(Nehemiah 8:10)
As we enter into this Christmas season, one of the words we will often hear is the word JOY. We will talk about the joy of the season. We will talk sing about joy in the traditional carols of the season. The fact is, many of you today do NOT have joy. Joy is not part of your daily life. It is an emotion that is as far from you today as the stars in the sky. You know it exists. You can even see it. But it is so far away.
Let me share with you this morning the key to getting joy back into your life. It can ONLY happen when you are in a committed relationship with Christ. I can guarantee you that without a serious, committed, daily walk with Christ, you can forget having the joy in your life the Bible speaks of. You may be able to manufacture joy for a brief period, but that is not the joy the Bible speaks of. The joy we read about in the Word, the "joy of the Lord", stems from our relationship with Christ.
You see my friend, the joy the Bible speaks of is an inner peace, an inner tranquility, a perfect contentment, a complete sense of happiness. These feelings are not possible to know without that committed, daily walk with the Lord. The main reason believers don't have that committed daily walk is because they are unwilling to surrender their live 100% to Him. They are holding on. Why? The Bible says when you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, it is not your life any longer. It now belongs to Him. So in essence, you are holding on to something that does not belong to you any longer.
When you release it to Him, when you "die to self" daily, when you surrender, then you can know the joy spoken of in God's precious Word. Then you can understand the "joy of the Lord". The reason is simple. It is no longer you who lives, but the Christ in you that is living. You are not trying to live day-to-day life in your strength any longer, but you are living in His strength. You are not fighting uphill life's problems each day, but you are letting the Lord fight your battles. You have put your faith in Him. As our commander-in-chief He gives you the battle plan, and as a good soldier you carry it out. It is in that surrendered state, in that committed, daily walk with the Lord, that real joy becomes part of our life.
I love you and care about you so very much. I hurt as I read so many emails daily of how many of you are fighting life's problems and without the joy the Lord wants us to know during this life. Let me share with you again. It is only possible to have the "joy of the Lord" in your life when you are in a committed, daily walk with the Lord. If you have never made that commitment or have fallen away, I want to encourage you to take a minute and go to my website, www.liveprayer.com . Click on Salvation, listen to the words, and pray the prayer. That is the starting point to have joy in your life.
As we enter into this most blessed, and joyous time of the year, I want my gift to you this Christmas to be the "joy of the Lord" in your daily life. Life can be as difficult or as complicated as we allow it to become. I can guarantee you this, having tried it both ways, when we live life our way, it becomes a daily struggle and joy will be as far as those stars in the sky. When we open our hearts to Christ, surrender to Him, and live in a committed daily relationship with Him, joy becomes part of our daily life. It is a promise we have in God's Word that we need to take and make part of our daily life. Make it part of your life today.
