House Church Talk - Counting the Joy

[Klpgr5 at aol.com]

Dear Jim,

Once again Jim, you express in this post so much that I can't seem to find 
all the words for.  Thank you and thank God.  May the Living Lord Jesus continue 
His work in your life.

Deb Kleppinger (Wisconsin)




In a message dated 12/4/2003 6:28:15 AM Central Standard Time, 
goodwordusa at att.net writes:

>  
> 
> 
> 
> The messages and teachings of God come to us most clearly in the Scriptures 
> --
> especially as we apply them to every day life.  And here is a blessing given 
> 
> to us by the Lord in the New Testament:
> 
> My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing 
> that 
> the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its 
> perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  If any 
> 
> of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and 
> without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, 
> with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and 
> tossed by the wind.  For let not that man suppose that he will receive 
> anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 
>  
> (James 1:2-8)
> 
> I, for one, often forget to count my difficulties as joy.  
> 
> I am often overtaken by the flash of the moment, when some small and nagging 
> 
> resistance appears in my pathway, forcing me to do this or that, when all I 
> want is to go somewhere or get some work done.  For example, I tend to 
> resent 
> red lights, slow drivers, and having to clean up a mess I made because I was 
> 
> in a hurry to do something.  And I so often seem to be in a hurry to do 
> something.
> 
> But God is true and faithful.  And the one constant in my life is the 
> goodness and kindness of the Lord: His good Presence by the Holy Spirit, and 
> 
> His faithfulness to watch out for me while I'm busy looking the wrong way.  
> If not for God's mighty hand of grace, I would not be here today to type 
> these words.  The Lord is true and faithful.  
> 
> The Lord is good in all seasons.
> 
> And whatever He says is good and true.  We can and should take His words in 
> Scripture to heart at all times.  And we should spend more time rejoicing in 
> 
> Him.  We should count the day as joy, and count the long night as joy -- 
> because the Lord Jesus has delivered us from darkness and made us to be 
> light 
> in Him.  And the Lord Jesus has given us eternal riches that nothing at all 
> can ever take away.  And the Lord Jesus has given us His very own life for 
> all eternity.  In Him we live and breathe and have our being.
> 
> When I'm in a hurry, I don't often really want wisdom.  I just want results 
> --
> right now.  
> 
> But God is patient with me, allowing me to face the same difficulties again 
> and again, until I learn to pay attention to His lesson, whatever it happens 
> 
> to be.  When I face a trial or difficulty, I seldom want to know the why, 
> the 
> reasoning, or the logic behind the problem.  I just want it to go away 
> immediately.  I want all obstacles to get out of my way, so that I can 
> continue on unhindered, at top speed.
> 
> But much of the Lord's teaching takes place on the way: on the road, or on 
> the boat ride, to this or that place.  That's how it was in the Gospel 
> accounts, and that's how it is today also -- at least in my life.  God is 
> teaching, revealing, changing me.  Training me, making me into something 
> more 
> like His Son.  His plan is to have a great household filled with children of 
> 
> God.  Children who have been adopted, yes, but His own no less.  And He's 
> working in my life to get me ready.
> 
> The "obstacle" is very often an important lesson from my Father.  
> The "difficulty" is often a new chapter in the book He's writing to my 
> heart.  For in all our squeezes and pressures of life we're able 
> (eventually) 
> to see the great and mighty hand of God at work.  He is always there -- 
> ALWAYS THERE -- to walk us through whatever it is.  And we learn, in time, 
> that we are never, never, never alone.
> 
> And so we begin to learn patience.  We stop exploding or fleeing at the 
> first 
> signs of a moving leaf in the wind.  We stop fighting every hard turn.  We 
> also learn how to dig in with both feet and stand firm -- even when standing 
> 
> firm is all in the world we can do.  Like Moses, we also learn to fall on 
> our 
> faces and call on the One who is able to help us.  Like David of old, we 
> learn to get God's approval for every battle.  We learn that God is with us, 
> 
> and that He will not forsake us.  He will never forsake us.
> 
> Not even a little bit will He forsake His own.
> 
> And so I'm learning today to count it all joy.  And I'm learning to ask the 
> Lord for wisdom.  And I'm learning to have faith, to simply trust the Lord 
> in 
> everything.
> 
> Paul, who knew about trouble, wrote:  
> "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with 
> thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, 
> 
> which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through 
> Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 4:6,7)
> 
> And he also urged: 
> "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this 
> is 
> the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  Do not quench the Spirit."  (1 
> Thessalonians 5:16-19)
> 
> Little by little, by the gentle grace of God,  I'm learning.
> 
> Jim
>    
>   
>

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