Ladies…start your engines! Things are cranking up as kids get ready to go back to school, sports and church events rev up and schedules become jam packed. Is this a description of your fast-paced world?
Trust me…I understand busy. Our pace has already shifted into Mach 3 and it’s about to move into warp speed as soon as September arrives! Like many of you, we’ll send kids to college, launch into school, volleyball, tennis and football and work fulltime during the week.
On the weekends, we also pastor a little ‘ole church with a few people and four weekend services – and we are in the midst of working on expansion plans to move our church to another property. I thought we were busy before…I had no clue. If I didn’t know the secret to survival, I might just be freaking out right about now!
So, how about you? Does the pace of life seem overwhelming at times? Are you trying to figure out how to do it all and still keep one nostril above water?
I know just what we need for survival. The secret? It’s not more Prozak…it’s shots of joy! The Bible is clear, “…the joy of the Lord is our strength….” Joy is our secret-weapon. I don’t see “slowing down” as an option any time soon. Do you? We need God’s joy if we are going to keep up with the speed of this culture.
God is full of joy; He’s not overwhelmed or stressed out by all the demands. This is a characteristic of God that very few people seem to understand. Many people view God as some stern, serious, stoic ogre who is a total kill-joy. That’s not the God of the Bible. Jesus was anointed with gladness! He was a happy, friendly, joy-filled person, not the sad-looking, “homeless” guy image you see in portraits. He laughed and radiated joy.
What is the Lord so happy about? After all, doesn’t He know about deadlines? Terrorists? Wars? Natural disasters? The economy? The thing that gives the Lord joy – is us. Yes…we were the joy that enabled Him to endure the cross. God’s great joy is a real, personal, growing relationship with us. We need the joy of the Lord.
Joy is the hallmark of the Christian life. Too many Christians are stressed and depressed or mad and sad. If we are Christ-like, we are joy-filled!
So…how do we load up on joy?
-Hang out With God – The psalmist tells us that in God’s Presence there is “fullness of joy.” When we get close to God, His joy splashes over into our life. We always become like those associate with, so perhaps we need to hang out with God more than ever this year.
-Shout – The Bible says, “Shout FOR joy.” Get the idea? When was the last time you shouted for joy? Shouted out your thanks and praise to God? I guarantee if you start shouting…you will also start laughing…and you will find the joy of the Lord to be your strength. How can we not be full of joy when we have a friendship with God Almighty? Got stress? Shout it out! Feeling overwhelmed? Shout with a voice of triumph!
Life is too short to be stressed and overwhelmed. Do something radical in this busy season – hang out with God and shout, sister! Joy will be your strength.
