Imagine a life full of Joy. Where you wake up every day full of life and excited for what the day holds. We can live a life full of joy as we follow Jesus. It doesn’t mean that we will be happy every day but we will be full of Jesus and the contentment that brings.
Romans 12:9-13
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.Practice hospitality.
Focus on These
This is a power packed passage that we could work the rest of our lives on and never fully accomplish. Here’s the key though, this is the path to live a life full of joy. Focusing on the acts of kindness will fill our hearts to overflowing. Just look at some these: Be sincere in your love, cling to what is good, be devoted and honor others above you. Those sound difficult but the fruit from those actions produce a mighty harvest of joy in our lives. Paul knew that to thrive in our relationship with Christ we would need to be focused on those things that produce joy. Joy is what helps us endure the daily grind that wears us down.
Joy, Patience, and Faith
Paul tells us three things in verse 12: be joyful, patient, & faithful. Joyful in hope. What is our hope in? Jesus Christ and his return to earth. Things may be getting worse here but one day he will return. Patient in affliction. Jesus said we will suffer for following him. The world hated him and because of that, it will hate us too. They will take that hate out on us. Be patient and wait on God. Finally, we are to be faithful in prayer. When the joy and patience are running thin we need to remain steadfast in prayer. Prayer is more than coming to God with our needs. It’s asking him the questions that puzzle us. It telling him how much he means to us. It’s listening for answers.
Living a life full of joy all hinges on ridding ourselves of our selfishness. The more we focus on ourselves the less joy we will have. We will chase from thing to thing hoping it will make us happy. Stop the chase today and start focusing on what Paul lays out here in Romans 12. We will be better off and soon discover that life full of joy.
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