by:
01/17/2024
0
Good morning and a blessed Thursday morning to you.
I'd like to share with you from this poem.
“Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.”
I imagine that we're all pretty familiar with that tale. Casey didn't get the hit. Casey didn't get the home run. Casey just struck out. And the joy in Mudville was linked to the circumstance. The joy in Mudville was linked to whether or not Casey got the hit.
So often, joy is linked with circumstances. But what does the bible tell us about joy?
Habukkuk 3:17-18
17 Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
The images here might be difficult for us to relate to, but in ancient day you were either in the field, or you were attending the flock. Notice these are all negative experiences for people that were attending the flock or in the field. The fruit tree didn't blossom. There's no fruit on the vines. The olive fails. The fields
yield no food. The flock is cut off from the fold. There's no herd in the stalls. All of those are negative, and amidst all of those bad experiences, amidst all of those negative times, the very next portion says, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will exalt in the God of my salvation.”
You see, joy here wasn't linked to the circumstances. Joy wasn't linked to things going well. Joy was linked to rejoicing in the Lord, the God of my salvation. That's a joy that's rooted in God.
Indeed God empowers us and gives us joy because our names, by his grace, are written in The Book of Life. We've been claimed in the waters of baptism. Christ has taken our sin upon him at the cross. The tomb is empty. And baptized child of God, God has opened up for you an eternity in the very presence of God himself. And God is with us all of our days this side of heaven. Amidst all of the good time, in the midst of all of the bad times our Lord walks with us… always, always present with us.
Our joy then isn’t dependent upon whether Casey gets the hit. Our joy isn’t dependent upon whether things are going great in our life. Our joy is rooted in our Lord. You know there's an old acrostic for JOY.
J- Jesus. Indeed he is the source of Joy, isn't he. Our very savior who loves us and is with us.
O- Others. You see the Lord has called us his own, and now empowers us to be a people of service. In fact, a way that we glorify him is by serving others. When life isn't about us, life is
about serving others. And when we look at others as opportunities to serve, there is joy. There we see that life isn't about us, but it's about bringing glory to God. And the way that we bring glory to God is by serving. There's the source of joy.
Y- Yourself.
Jesus first the source of Joy, Others, and then Yourself. That acrostic is helpful for us to understand that we can be empowered to be a people of joy whatever the circumstances. Joy is rooted in the Lord. Joy that comes by serving others. Joy!
Gracious Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for this time in your Word. Your Word is truth. We give you thanks that whatever circumstances we're facing today, we may be in a sad time in our life, but whatever circumstances we are facing we know that by your grace, by your empowerment we can still be a people of joy… for you hold us. You've called us your own. You’ve opened up for us in eternity. And you walk with us each and every day this side of heaven. You are sovereign, and you are in control. And in you we find our joy. Lord may we express that joy by putting others before ourselves. May we experience the joy that comes in service. And so, thank you Lord. Thank you for today. And thank you for joy in Jesus name. Amen.
God bless you. Encourage someone.
Pastor Eibel
0 Comments on this post: