“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” Hebrews 6:19
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38, 39
“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22
“The joy of the LORD is your strength.” Those words penned from Nehemiah 8:10 we generally claim or hear quoted when people are experiencing adversities or may have a monumental task ahead of them. Sometimes they are even expressed in moments of celebration. For days of sorrow or for days of peace, any day is a good day where a child of God can declare, “The joy of the LORD is your strength.”
One thing I have learned in life is that we do go through many different seasons and circumstances. Some good. And yet, some which can make one feel a little void or empty. Happiness and joy can’t seem to be found in any activity or normal pleasure.
During these seasons, one must remember that life will always act as a variable. It may seem a simple thing to say or write, but in the midst of the challenges and sorrows, yes, it is sometimes hard for us to see these truths, therefore, we must be gently reminded of how things really are at times. And that is life changes. Things get added and taken away. Some changes affect how we feel and when we base our feelings on these variables we experience many ups and downs.
What then? It is the unchanging, the solid, the constant that we need to build everything else upon. As long as we live in this world things will always change. One hundred percent of our time will not stay in a state of sameness. We will have times of exaltation, growth, and increase. But, we will also experience those things that grieve us, break our hearts, and spend our energies with the multitude of tears flowing from us (see Ecclesiastes 3:1-11).
Therefore, since we are susceptible to these changes we must base our life, our joy, our foundation to everything else upon Him who never changes.
God is our constant! “For I am the Lord, I change not,” He exclaimed in Malachi 3:6. We also have this promise written through James: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning,” (James 1:17; emphasis added).
Our Heavenly Father will always be the wonderful, Heavenly Father that He has always been. No matter how your circumstances may feel to you right now, that truth will never change.
That being said, if the happiness and joy you once felt or usually feel have escaped you today, perhaps it is because we have become more dependent on too many changing factors rather than filling our heart, mind, soul, and life with the true joy of Him and from Him that never changes.
In dealing with many sorrows and afflictions himself, David penned his own beautiful words, declaring the assurance of his joy. He stated, “And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation,” (Psalm 35:9).
When we bring our all to focus on God… When we tune our souls into the proper source, we will find that situations may still be adverse, but because I have Him, because I have a relationship with God, and because His salvation has raised me from far worse than where my soul would be without Him, I can still rejoice!
I think it’s safe to say that we all want it to feel good all the time. But feeling good and have everything go our way or turn out just as we desire is not a prerequisite for true joy because those things and feelings will also and always change. But my God won’t, and when it is He that I open my heart to and allow all that He is to shine on me and everything that I am feeling, then I can experience that true, unchanging joy!
Word For Life Says... 