Do you want to experience joy?
Right now God is with you and his heart for you is that you would experience the fullness of joy. Joy is not for a few lucky people. Joy is not for those who do everything right. It may surprise you but joy is for you today. If you aren’t experiencing joy there is a good chance that something in your past or something in your future is stifling that joy. If that’s the case I have good news for you. Joy is within reach today. Listen in as we discuss how you can experience joy.
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Podcast Transcript:
Hello, I’m so glad you wanted to join in today. This is Shawn with Creation Speaks. I want to continue the discussion I was having last week about giving room for God and recognizing as Paul said, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” We can become more aware of \ how much God is involved with every moment of our day. I know we don’t always feel that way. It doesn’t’ always seem that way but we can learn to trust him. Recognize that God is very involved in our days.
You know, I was looking in my journal at something I wrote earlier this year. I was writing about when Jesus called Nathanael to follow Him. Jesus said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael was asked Him how He knew him. Jesus said, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Even before we know Jesus He knows us just as He did Nathanael.
I would encourage you to read through Psalm 139. The Psalmist says, “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.” In that same chapter, he talks about how we can go to the most remote location and He is still there.
You know, Jesus invites us to pray and talk to him, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
God is ever working in our lives. Before we know Him He is at work and when we recognize who He is and what He’s done for us. He reconciles us to Himself then a new journey begins.
Recognize how much God is involved in your life today. I hope you find some encouragement in that. We all have our hopes and dreams. Maybe you feel perplexed and worried. Jesus invites us to bring those cares and worries to him. He invites us to lay them down and pray about those things. He wants us to talk to Him about them. We can stress out, but God’s like, “I want you to know I’m going to take care of you. I’m going to be with you and answer those prayers. I’m going to do a work in your life.” Jesus said that He would never leave us or forsake us.
God will finish what He started in our life.
I guess what I hope to leave you with is that you would know how much God is at work today in your life, even today. God is at work even when you begin to feel like this day is a drag or looking at circumstances in your future. Jesus is saying of those things that He will take care of those things when you get there but right now, this is what you have. You don’t have tomorrow and maybe you are dwelling on the past. You can dwell on the past and relive it over and over in your mind. Maybe you’re dwelling on past regrets and thinking about the things you wish you had done. Maybe you are saying, “God why didn’t you come through” or “God why didn’t you stop me” or whatever it might be that you are dwelling on. Jesus wants to release you from that burden. He’s that Father that wants to embrace you right now and he’s saying, “I’ve provided for you right now and I want your joy to be made full.” What would keep us from saying, “Hey my joy is full.” Mostly it’s something in the past or something in the future but on the cross, Jesus dealt with all those failures, mistakes, and disobedient things you’ve done. He took care of your sin so that you may enter into His joy.
Now He wants to remove that burden from you. He wants to take that away so that you can give room for joy. He’s like, “don’t carry that. You’re weighing yourself down.” You’re drowning in and reliving the past or you’re so focused on the future but you aren’t even there today. You are here right now and Jesus says to ask so that your joy will be full. Let Him remove that thing you are dwelling on because He is so involved in your life today and he’s saying, “let me take that, let me carry that for you and may you be filled with my fullness, with my love.”
I think that’s God’s heart and I’ll leave it at that because that’s what God wants right now. He wants your joy to be made full. So, start asking and allow Him to do that perfect work in you.