Are you so focused on some goal, some destination, some accomplishment – that you have forgotten that there is joy to be found right here, right now? Bev and I drove across the United States in the Summer of 2011 and what a trip it was. We took our time, driving only 300 or 400 miles a day. We actually got off the interstate and ate in local little restaurants. We fully appreciated the beauty of the Moab desert as we drove along the Colorado River, stopping to gaze over that unique landscape. We walked a mountain meadow near the Continental Divide, breathing the air at those heights. There was even a kind of wonder in the wide and vast Great Plains. We knew we had to ‘get home’ but we let ourselves enjoy the trip! That is not always how I travel! Sometimes, I get ‘on the road’ with a single-mindedness. I drive fast through long days to ‘just get there.’
Let me ask you – how are you living your life? Are you letting yourself enjoy the journey or are you looking only to some future hope of happiness or anticipating trouble down the road?
Jesus wisely counsels us to live today. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Matthew 6:34, The Message) I promise you that your experience of life will be much richer and certainly more joyful when you choose to be fully present to the people and things that are happening all around you.
Joy does not ‘just happen’ for the most part. We discover it as we are intentional in our ways. As a little boy, I learned a Sunday School chorus: “Jesus, Others, and You; what a wonderful way to spell JOY.” I didn’t really understand the profound truth of those simple words then, but I do now. Put away Ego and selfishness. Turn upward and outward, giving yourself away. When we let go of our tenacious grasp of our ‘plan,’ and give ourselves away, choosing to serve, refusing self-centeredness and replacing that we selfless serving, JOY grows inside out.
The culture in which we live insists that our happiness can only be found if we are dedicated to Self. We are told to “Find yourself.” “Do what makes you happy.” The wisdom of God is exactly opposite. We are called into the Body of Christ where we can be most alive only when we deeply connected to others in interdependent relationships.
Peter points to this radically different way of life when, by the Spirit, he tells us to “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:9 NIV) The word “hospitality” in that verse translates the original Greek text that speak of ‘loving the other.’ Hospitality is not just prepping a meal for someone in your home. It is a choice to invite others into your life, to be a welcoming serving person, who is ‘enjoying the trip.’
Beyond that, Peter tells us to “use your gifts to serve!”
Some use their gifts to gain influence. Some use them to find favor, others
with the desire for applause. If we want
to find joy in the journey we will take God’s gifts to us – big and small – and
give them ways - “faithfully administer”- Peter says. The most joyful Christians that I know are
those who are connected and who embrace opportunities God presents to them
to make their world a better place. Those
who roll up their sleeves and get to work to serve Jesus, His Body, and the
world in His Name have the potential to become content, fulfilled, steady
people. Oh yes, I am realist. Fatigue
may come. Criticism will show up, especially from those doing the least.
However, the “company of the committed” are focused on Another’s praise. They are
joyful, not because of great results or constant recognition, but because they
love God and others.
This Monday morning as you go off to your responsibilities, pray to find joy in the journey. Choose to accept and serve, to pause and reflect, to listen with true attention. As you live with this awareness of God’s Presence and other’s needs, you will know a difference in your own life, a kind of joy that flows from the Spirit. Oh that others would say of us what Paul wrote of his friend, Philemon. "I myself have gained much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because your kindness has so often refreshed the hearts of God’s people." (Philemon 7, NLT)
Here is a word from the Word, a Psalm that uses ancient images to convey the joy of community. Though they may be somewhat lost to us in their fullness, the sense of full joy still seeps through these words Read them, live them. Find Joy today.
"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live
together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on
the beard,running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It
is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord
bestows his blessing, even life forevermore." (Psalm 133, NIV)
Oils, precious and refined, were poured on the heads of the priests symbolizing the Presence of God. The fragrance spread to those watching. Everyone was enveloped in the experience, part of the rite even through the sense of smell!
Mount Hermon, the highest peak in Northern Israel, was the place from which the waters of the Jordan flowed, bringing life to the desert areas of Mount Zion in Jerusalem. God gave the snowfall that fell on that high peak. As it melted and flowed down into the Jordan the whole region was watered, the fertility of the ground preserved. All were blessed by something happening far away. When God's people work together, sharing grace, loving – it is the best of the best, spreading out to touch many lives.
Lord, spread the fragrance of Your goodness through our
words and actions today. May we be a refreshing presence to those whose souls
are parched.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
(Video of this blog at this link)
___________________
There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey
And all those who seek it shall find it
A pardon for all who believe
Hope for the hopeless
And sight for the blind
To all who've been born of the Spirit
And who share incarnation with Him
Who belong to eternity stranded in time
And weary of struggling with sin
Forget not the hope that's before you
And never stop counting the cost
Remember the hopelessness
When you were lost
And freedom for those who obey
Michael Card
© 1986 Birdwing Music; Mole End Music
CCLI License # 810055
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