If you are reading this, I am going to assume that you are a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ and that you are either intrigued by the thought of a joy-filled faith, or that you in a place where you are in desperate need of joy.
Let me assure you – wherever you are. I believe that there is a place for you here and a lesson to learn that will enrich your faith.
Lets go back a few years…
I accepted Jesus Christ when I was a child and was lucky to grow up in a home that focused on living with faith. But it was also legalistic and sometimes centered primarily on my behavior. The way I am wired has made it hard for me to find joy in my walk with Jesus because I was always very aware of my shortcomings and flat out failures.
I spent many years checking boxes. Studying the Bible. Following the “rules”. Serving in church and the community. Raising a family. Living a full and happy life.
My life was (is) full of wonderful memories and experiences. Packed with joy. BUT, my faith was not.
Let me say that again. Life was good. Full of joy. BUT my faith was not.
My faith was obedient and deep. But not filled with joy.
The journey to a joy-filled faith is what I want to share with you.
It all began with a simple song about joy from childhood. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment, but it began popping into my head over and over again. I would find myself humming the tune, singing the words and then one day… I realized it was what I was missing. Joy in my faith!
Here are the words:
J. O. Y. what a wonderful way to spell joy.
J is for Jesus and He takes first place
O is for others you meet face to face
Y is for you, so whatever you do, put yourself last and spell joy.
It dawned on me that I was living my faith focused on myself. My behavoir. My mistakes. My works. My faith.
Not Jesus.
I was living my faith backwards.
Stop and think about your faith. Are you focused on yourself? Your behavior? Your works? Your mistakes?
Are you checking your “faith-living boxes” but missing putting Jesus first?
I’m going to wrap this up for now, because there will be a lot of opportunity to talk about this more. For today, spend some time meditating on how you live your faith. Is it focused on your actions or on Jesus? Who He is, what He has done, and what He wants to do in our lives.
Take a look at these verses. Pray for God to reveal himself.
John 3:16; John 14:6; John 1:1, 14; Philippians 2:8-11
With joy,
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