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Mar 14, 2020 11:30am

Find Joy Where the World Would Never Look

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Regardless of whether you hold to a young earth or an old earth position, we can all agree that humanity has roamed this world for many thousands of years. This is important to understand as we consider our lives here on earth, our current state of existence and how we find what we’re looking for in life.

My point is this: The importance of the present is unspeakably invaluable. Time is an asset that depletes, never to return. We can create more money and more energy, but we will never create more time. Once this second passes we’ll never get it back. This tells me that my life is running out and the opportunity to make it count, and even to enjoy it, is fading fast.

Find Joy in the Life You Never Wanted

It’s almost certain that our lives are not how we envisioned them when we were younger, and this can cause bitterness to swell up inside of us. We can resent ourselves or even God for not giving us our dream life. We have in mind exactly what we think will bring us joy, and it’s just not happening. God is not blessing our dreams, so we get frustrated.

But, instead of bitterness, God is calling us to embrace the life he has given us and to find joy in it. He is calling you to find joy in the life you never wanted. And although God has given you a life that looks nothing like you wanted, it’s filled with more blessing than you deserve or could ever imagine.

Find Joy in the Gospel of Grace

We must remember the gospel and the fact that we don’t deserve anything we have.

We wake up and constantly fight to find joy in everything other than God while sinful thoughts and actions radiate from us.

We make ourselves enemies of God day in and day out, yet God is faithful to sustain our lives and bless us.

God blesses his enemies and adopts them into his family through the work of Jesus. In this we can have an assurance that although our lives look nothing like we wanted, there is something far greater coming that will satisfy every molecule of our being.

Find Joy in the Simple Blessings

While in this period of waiting on the future hope we have in Christ, we can slow down and appreciate the gifts God has given us that we absolutely don’t deserve; namely, our lives. We live in the present, a very rare reality.

Where are the simple things in which we can have joy? Like time with our families or loved ones? Or something of value we can grasp like a simple meal or the presence of a good friend? Each of those moments is fleeting and if we’re not careful we’ll wake up at the end of the race and regret the moments we didn’t initiate with those we love.

Find Joy in Those Around You

A recent study was done on individuals who were in the last decades of their lives. They were asked what they regretted most and what they would change if they could. Most of their responses had nothing to do with regretting wrongdoings. Instead, their responses were about what they had neglected:

“I wish I had spent more time with my children.”

“I wish I had loved my wife better.”

“I wish I had gotten together with my family more.”

People don’t get to the end of their lives and say they wish they had worked more, made more money, or become more successful. Instead, it all boils down to the simplicity of our God-given relationships and the time, energy, and love we put into them.

God is honored when we place our joy in him and when we are satisfied and grateful for the simple, beautiful blessings he has given us.

You can find joy in the right now if you’ll surrender your life to God today.