IQ #236 “Living with Pure Joy”

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ, blessed is the Lord, for the gift of a new breath on a new day. Hallelujah! 

Many of you have heard me say that, God wants us to live a joyful and fulfilled life. If my statement was left to just that alone, you will question the truth in it when those days come where all does not go well.

Remember also, when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your life would be filled with trials and temptations.  (Acts 14:22)  “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

 In the book of Job we discovered that Job was a most righteous man who loved God and was totally committed to God’s commandments. Job was tested when God let Satan take away everything Job had and inflicted severe pain on him (Job 1:12)… “What!? How could our loving God do such a thing as to let Satan induce all this pain and suffering?” Yet, Job remained strong even when told to curse God for his troubles (1:22) 

From chapters 4-37, Job’s friends give him plenty of bad advice. They mistakenly blame his sufferings on his personal sins rather than God testing and growing Job. One of them was half-correct in that God wanted to humble him, but this was only a part of God’s test.

We are imperfect individuals. It is when you accept Jesus Christ into your life that God begins his sanctification process in making you holy. The trials and tribulations God allows you to be put though will cause you pain and anguish and you may cry out, “Why me? What did I do to deserve this?”… Are people giving you advice on what to do? Are you questioning God’s actions or are you questioning your understanding of God”

In chapters 38-42, God speaks to Job and restores him. God knows that Job has received incorrect guidance from his friends, (38:2) “Who is this that obscures my plans by words without knowledge?” God fittingly declares that humans do not know everything. Then He humbles Job by asking a series of questions that could never be answered by anyone other than Almighty God; for example, (38:18) “Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this”. God then brings him to an understanding that believers don’t always know what God is doing in their lives.

In the end, Job answers God by saying, (42:3b) “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand”. God then blessed Job with twice as much as he had before his trials began.

Job persevered and God filled his heart with joy. In the book of James we find out how we obtain pure joy.

James 1:2-6

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

That is probably one of the hardest passages of scripture to comprehend. You may ask, “How am I supposed to find joy in pain and suffering?”

As your personal trials and temptations begin to heat up it is only natural that all the junk and impurities festering inside you begin to rise to the top (come out in the open). With prayers for understanding to the blessed and almighty Lord, God begins scraping off those impurities and keeps testing you, all the while scraping off more junk, until all the impurities have been removed. Then, God will look at you, as you would a finely polished mirror, and see his reflection. God’s sanctification process in making you holy is where Christ Jesus can be seen and witnessed through you. Praise God for his wonderful acts! Hallelujah!

It is difficult to fully understand what God wants from us by what we go through in life until we let God cleanse our lives from the earthly junk.

Living with pure Joy can only be accomplished with love of God in your heart.

Peace and perseverance be with you my friends. 

John 7:31:15