As we finish our Christmas Season and begin to cast our thoughts to a New Year, may I ask, What is the joy set before you?
What hope, what joyful expectation have you set your heart upon to embrace in this coming season? What word have you heard that has moved past the first line of receptivity and made it’s way into your heart? A word that is working to bear greater fruit through you than ever before.
Jesus, in the book of Hebrews, is set before us a man acquainted with the deepest of grief, bearing sorrows, but filled with joy. This seems like a great paradox to me. The extremes of opposing dynamics. For the joy set before Him, he endured. Without this joy, without a hope for our future, we are unable to endure the day.
As we begin to know the love of God, we find that it not only holds a place of great highs, (joy unspeakable and full of glory) but it comes with the knowledge of the deepest grief and sorrow. The cross and all events surrounding it was the culmination of Jesus’ earthly work. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross. To love fully, purely, deeply is to know both great joy and the deepest grief and sorrow. This love continues to move forward embracing not only circumstances but people. Joy set before you is not necessarily seeing something joyful at the moment, but believing, you see and you endure.
Life in the next season will be about our ability to steadily move forward because joy is continually set before us. We must be stronger in the Lord and the power of His might, filled with His love for all, to do this. We must have our eyes focused upon Him and not upon people. We must keep our expectation in Him and His word, releasing others from a burden that is not theirs to carry.
My prayer is that our eyes would be stayed upon Him, growing stronger through our union with Him. Empowered by His mighty strength, fully clothed with the armour of God and able to stand up against all the devils stratagems ~ with joy.
May you be strengthened to believe every good word spoken to you and for the joy set before you ~ endure.
David and I wish you an entrance into 2016 filled with joy unspeakable and full of Glory. Fully assured no word of God returns to Him empty, but goes forth to fully accomplish all He has decreed.