TGIF
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
Romans 14:17
Our time in Philippians has been focused on joy. It’s something we take for granted I reckon. We feel entitled to happiness. We expect pleasure and for life to be filled with joy.
It’s worth seeing that this isn’t entirely rational. From an evolutionary/physics perspective, we live in a chaotic world of random chance where there is no entitlement to joy and any experience of it is luck. From a theological perspective, understanding the true depravity of sin, we should know that we are entitled to nothing but God’s judgement.
But by His grace, neither of these perspectives are true of reality. God made us to experience joy and happiness in Him, each other and the world He made. And though sin has led to our forfeiture of the entitlement to joy, if we trust in Jesus, we can again find joy in hope through the Holy Spirit.
The big deal is this. We can have joy. We can expect joy. If we put our hope and trust in Jesus then we receive the Spirit who shares with us the joy of God Himself. I’m not saying there is no joy outside of Christ. But true joy, eternal joy, the deepest joy, is only found through Him.
Give thanks today for the opportunity for joy.
For Today:
Pray: Praise the Father that He made us for joy. Give thanks for Jesus who gives us joy through His death, resurrection and the Spirit. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others experience true joy.
Romans 14:17
Our time in Philippians has been focused on joy. It’s something we take for granted I reckon. We feel entitled to happiness. We expect pleasure and for life to be filled with joy.
It’s worth seeing that this isn’t entirely rational. From an evolutionary/physics perspective, we live in a chaotic world of random chance where there is no entitlement to joy and any experience of it is luck. From a theological perspective, understanding the true depravity of sin, we should know that we are entitled to nothing but God’s judgement.
But by His grace, neither of these perspectives are true of reality. God made us to experience joy and happiness in Him, each other and the world He made. And though sin has led to our forfeiture of the entitlement to joy, if we trust in Jesus, we can again find joy in hope through the Holy Spirit.
The big deal is this. We can have joy. We can expect joy. If we put our hope and trust in Jesus then we receive the Spirit who shares with us the joy of God Himself. I’m not saying there is no joy outside of Christ. But true joy, eternal joy, the deepest joy, is only found through Him.
Give thanks today for the opportunity for joy.
For Today:
- Do you feel entitled to joy?
- Have you experienced joy through Jesus?
- Reflect on the joy found in Christ.
Pray: Praise the Father that He made us for joy. Give thanks for Jesus who gives us joy through His death, resurrection and the Spirit. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others experience true joy.
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