Exceeding Joy Part 3
By: Misty Grimes
Quick Recap: So far in this series on how to obtain and/or maintain exceeding joy we have looked at the basis of our joy: Salvation and three attributes of God that give us cause to have exceeding joy: His unconditional love; His control over all things and His wisdom. This week we will look at two more attributes of God that should cause us to feel exceeding joyful: His presence in our lives at all times and His never-ending supply of strength.
Day One: Grateful For His Presence
Scriptures: “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11) and “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Introduction: Do you ever feel like God just isn’t there? God has promised always to be with us, but often we’re not aware of his constant presence in our lives. It’s easy to get so caught up in dealing with the demands of daily life or struggling with a painful situation, that we don’t notice God at all, and we wonder when – if ever – we may experience the thrill of encountering him again. When we find ourselves discouraged due to seeming unanswered prayer(s) or prayers not being answered the way we believe they should have been (i.e., prayed for healing but our loved one passed away); a series of disappointing events; a devastating diagnosis; a betrayal by someone close to you and so on, it is quick to wonder where God is in all of this and we often find ourselves more discouraged by his seeming absence that we are by the circumstances. Other times we are just so busy with our day-to-day lives and everything on our to-do list that we forget he is there guiding us each step of the way. Regardless of the reason we may come to the point where we wonder where God is, we can be assured of his constant presence in our lives when we take time to focus on Him rather than our circumstances. Take heart my weary travelers and busy bees, and know that even while our faith may often wither like the grass and are we are quick to forget he is ever present, He is everlasting and He promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us: “Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”(Deuteronomy 31:6). In the times when it is hard to believe God is present in your life remember that we shouldn’t be driven by our emotions (feelings) when it comes to our trust in God but rather our faith in Him and His faithfulness to us that drives us to remember that He is near, always has been and always will be.
Lesson: Are you at a point in your life where you need to focus on Him and regain a sense of His presence in the midst of your struggle or your chaotic schedule? Here are some ways that you can do that:
- Come Clean with Him: Problem: Sometimes we can’t sense God’s presence because there’s something blocking the communication between the two of you and usually this is unconfessed sin or an area of your life that you have not surrendered to Him that he has been calling you to release for some time now. Solution: “While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up[a] as by the heat of summer.Selah Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” (Psalm 32:3-5). Confess to God what is on your heart and mind, surrender to him that area of your life you are still trying to control that you know He wants you to give him!
- Read Scripture Aloud: When you audibly speak God’s Word you will often sense its power and His presence. Hebrews 4:12 says, “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart”. When we open His Word, we are encountering the living, active, speaking God! You never know how God will meet you as your speak His Word. He may convict you of sin and move you to repentance. He may strengthen you in the depths of your soul that are so broken right now and in need of his touch. He may prompt you to pray for a struggling or wandering friend or family member. He may drive you to your knees in worship!
- Sing Him a Love Song: God inhabits the praises of His people. Do you ever wonder why you sometimes feel closer to God when you’re in a church service singing hymns or praise songs? Because it is there that worship tends to take place. The wonderful thing is, you don’t have to be in church to praise/worship God in this manner. Regardless of where you are when you sing to him songs of worship you are no longer focused on yourself but on Him and when you open this door of your heart to Him, he will meet you there!
- Say His Name/Say A Breath Prayer: There is power in the name of Jesus because, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). When you say His name aloud, as the Answer to all you seek, as the Source to calm your soul, as the One whose presence you long for, you will sense the power of his presence and His peace. There are times when we need Him but we just don’t know what to say or where to start. It is at those times that all we have to do is say His name and speak your hearts cry: “Jesus, I need you” or “Jesus, give me a heart for You”. He knows. He is there. Call His name and feel His presence. God wants us to open our hearts before Him, to bring him our burdens. When we pray the presence of God suddenly inhabits all the big and little details of our lives. He lifts our burdens and gives us peace. He empowers us to overcome our sin. He heals us. He saves the rebel and takes hold of the wanderer. He provides for our needs. Prayer is saying to God, “Please come and invade the details of my day. I’m not sufficient on my own for the day, but you are.”
- Take a Walk: Sometimes we just need a change of scenery. Get outside and move around. It can be as simple as walking around your yard or your neighborhood or going to the park, the lake or the Riverwalk (my favorite “time to get my head on straight” go-to-place). Taking a walk near nature can make you more aware of creation around you and make you feel more in touch with your Creator as well. As you walk pour out your heart to him and listen to his still small voice that may come to you through the sounds of the water, the wind blowing through the trees, a bird singing, or any other reminder you may see or hear that reminds you of the One who made you. Be still and experience His presence in His majestic creation! ““Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)
- Breathe Deep: Sometimes we can’t sense God’s presence simply because too much of everything else going on, things that don’t matter because they distract us from the One thing that does matter – His presence in our lives. Center your mind on Him and start to breathe deeply. Exhale the distracting thoughts and inhale a desire to sense His presence. Exhale your pre-occupation with self. Inhale a desire to know Him more completely. Exhale the worries of the moment. Inhale His peace. Can you begin to sense that you’re in His arms? “Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace—in peace because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3).
- Fellowship: We experience the presence of God when we fellowship with other believers: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20). Jesus is uniquely present whenever Christians gather in his name. We experience the presence of God in a way that we simply can’t when we’re by ourselves. As we encourage one another, we experience the presence of God in a particular, preserving way.
Conclusion: God manifests his presence through the Holy Spirit in tangible ways every day, and He invites you to come close to Him and welcomes you with great love. Whether we realize it or not, we are always in the presence of God!!! Every second of every day He is there because, if we have found salvation in Him, He has made His home in us (“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (I Corinthians 6:19). If we are in Christ, the presence of God truly is within us and we have access to this His amazing presence at all time through Christ our mediator. Because He lives within us and is always with us, we can talk with him and experience him wherever we are both physically (in our car, in our office, at small group) as well as in our lives (on the mountaintop or experiencing a wilderness journey). The amazing yet holy presence of God is always available to us and all we need to do to activate it is to call upon Him and he promises he will answer!
Application: God’s presence in your life is meant to transform you, to inspire you to open yourself up in deeper ways to the Holy Spirits ongoing work of transforming you into the person God wants you to become. Take this time to focus your heart and your mind on the still small voice of God and hear what He is asking you to do so that you may feel his powerful, transforming presence in your life right now. Be willing to have God turn your life upside down, reshape your values and redirect your energy. Rather than staying in your comfort zone, be open to saying “yes” in whatever area(s) he is drawing your attention to. So here is the challenge: God has promised always to be with us, but often we’re not aware of his constant presence in our lives because we get so caught up in dealing with the demands of daily life that we don’t notice God at all, and we wonder when – if ever – we may experience the thrill of encountering him again. God loves us and wants to be close to us and wants us to know him better. What steps can you take today, do you need to take today, that will lead you closer to him? Invite him to make his presence known more strongly in your life.
Day Two: Grateful for His Strength
Scripture: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
Introduction: That he is mighty should cause us who often tend to tremble in our weakness to rejoice!
Because we can expect a storm every now and then in life, we must know where to gain our strength to endure the trials we face. Read that sentence again. Now ask yourself, when the storms of life come, where do you turn to find your strength? Many of us struggled for so long to learn that in and of ourselves we are nothing more than a weak vessel tossed around by each whisper of a wave, each small breeze that blows, each rain drop that falls and left to our own defenses we are utterly defenseless. Oh we have tried to find strength but in all the wrong places and all the wrong ways, places and ways that left us shipwrecked upon the beach of failure as yet again we have learned the hard way that there is no such thing as successful self-reliance. We had to come to the point where we realized that the only way to survive the storms is to cling to the One who has to do nothing more than speak the words and the waves calm, the rains stop and the thunder is silenced. So I ask you again, where do you find your strength?
Lesson: There are three reasons we need God’s strength: two avoid sin/temptation (we tend to be more prone to give in to temptation/fall into sin when we are relying on our own strength rather than God’s); to endure difficult times and to carry out God’s will.
- To avoid temptation/sin by learning that we can’t not rely on our own strength because it is God who equips us with the strength we need to avoid these pitfalls. As these verses show us, the battles aren’t ours to fight but God’s and when we step aside and let him he will.
II Chronicles 20:17: “This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Psalm 84:5: “Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.”
Psalm 118:8: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals.”
Psalm 105:4: “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.”
- When we face difficult situations, when our hearts are heavy within us and we believe we can’t take one more step, it is then that we need to lean into his strength and let Him carry us through! He alone gives us the strength we need to come out on the other side of the darkness, to mend our broken hearts, to return to us the joy and peace we so much need. He renews our spirits and restores our hope. Unlike us, he never grows weary or faint or hopeless and he never looks unkindly on us when we do because he is familiar with it all (Isaiah 53:3).
Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Exodus 14:13-14: “But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”
Psalm 73:26: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
- There will be times in all our lives when we don’t have the strength to be obedient to what we know God is calling us to do: forgive someone who hurt us deeply; go on a mission trip that would require us to make some scary sacrifices; surrender to the His call to full-time ministry of some sort, something as small as speaking at a church function, etc. Be assured that whatever God is calling you to do he has already equipped you to do and when you need a little extra reminding of that and of the power his strength fills you with to be able to be obedient to his will remember these verses:
I Timothy 1:12: “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service”
2 Corinthians 12:8-10: “Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”
Conclusion: Life is hard but we can’t give up the fight. We can’t allow our difficult times to lead us away from God rather they should draw us closer to Him. We must hold on to God’s Word, obey His commands, draw strength from fellow Christians and continue to do His will not through our strength but His for it is only then that we are victorious. When you feel like giving up, go to God for more strength and hold fast to that knowing that He will not only strengthen you but is fighting for you and thus victory is guaranteed. Ephesians 6:10: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.”
Application: Self-effort (relying on our own strength in times of difficulty) is trusting more in ourselves than in God; trusting Him and His strength means resting in Him and letting Him work. Only when we cease from self-effort is the Lord able to work fully on our behalf. Knowing this look back over the scriptures we read in the lesson. Which one, or ones, do you need to claim the most right now? Pray those verses to God, asking Him to give you His strength, strength enough to do what you need to do to be obedient to Him: remove yourself from the situation and give Him control. Trust His strength and his faithfulness today!