This post calls for a bit of introspection.
In the final analysis………it calls on you to assess your relationship with God………and that can be scary.
Read on……..if you dare.
I have heard it said…….and I believe that it is true…….that the surest sign of the presence of God……..is joy. I see this joy from time to time on Sunday morning. I look around and see someone singing…….eyes closed, hands raised, and a face that literally glows with peace and joy. And I know that God is there.
Joy like this comes from being close to your creator. It comes from being in the place where you are supposed to be. It comes from being the person that you were created to be.
Do I feel that kind of joy?
Often……..but not always. It is hard to be joyful in the face of tragedy.
The other sign of the presence of God is peace. The peace that I am talking about is an internal peace……..a peace that transcends your circumstance. This kind of peace can co-exist with crisis. It can co-exist with tragedy. It can even co-exist with impending death.
Peace like this comes from confidence…….. confidence that the place you are in is safe…….that you are secure. How can you be confident that you are safe in the face of real tragedy…….even in the face of impending death? If you have a solid relationship with God…….then you are in his hands. And he has promised you a good future…….no matter what happens in the next ten minutes…….the next ten years……..even the next eighty years.
If you have a solid relationship with God, you will spend forever in the place that you were made for. You will spend forever in a place where you will fit in perfectly……..your true home.
And having that knowledge is a very good working definition of peace.
So……how do you assess…….how do you measure ……..your relationship with God?
You ask:
“Am I joyful?”
“Am I at peace?”
The stronger your yes is to those 2 questions…….the closer you are to God. Don’t be troubled if your score for joy is low today……..trust me ……..temporary circumstance…….. temporary tragedy can erode your joy. It will return.
If you can answer a strong yes to those questions, then you are truly blessed.
But……..what if you don’t feel joy…….or at least peace?
Then you are not in the place……..in this temporal world…….where you should be. Worse yet…….you may not end up in the place where you should end up. You need to reassess your relationship with God………your assumptions………your expectations………the amount of time you spend with God.
Because………the currency that you spend in order to buy peace and joy……..is the time you spend in conversation with God.
This bears repeating.
The currency that you spend in order to buy peace and joy……..is the time you spend in conversation with God.
If you ignore God………. don’t expect to find peace…..because this world cannot provide it.
If you try to run your life without God……..you may find a little scrap of temporary joy here and there………but don’t expect to find lasting joy……… because it just isn’t here.
So……..talk to God……..listen to God………study God………build your relationship with God…………and you will find joy……….you will find peace.
Because that is what God wants for you.
Because that is what you were created for.
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
Isaiah, NIV
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Jesus, NIV
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
God, NIV