By Shirley Rosemarie Evans
“I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives ...
and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labour—it is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3: 12, 13)
We are still on our lifelong adventure of delighting in Jesus, and having made the decision to choose to serve the Lord just because He is God, we now focus on enjoying the journey, because let’s be honest, if we do not enjoy what we are doing, it quickly becomes a chore and we lose our appetite for it. Very much like a good meal or our favourite snack. For example, I love good chocolate (I’m picky about my chocolate), and so it’s absolutely no hardship to me to indulge myself in my treat of choice over and over.
So how do we enjoy Jesus?
Joy – Fruit of the Spirit. We all have a measure of joy as a result of the deposit of Christ’s Holy Spirit in our hearts. Perhaps an all-knowing God knew that without joy, we would not have an essential component to endure a life marked by challenges and opposition. Joy reflects who our Father is, and He wants to fill us with Himself and equip us for the journey. Our part is to exercise and develop that joy so that it fills every area of our lives.
Fellowship – This Christian journey was never meant to be a one-man band experience. The church is a body made up of members because it takes the whole body working together to demonstrate the love of Jesus and epitomise what real community looks like. When we take pleasure in coming together for corporate worship and for fellowship, it really is a thing of beauty. God’s love in action lived out daily, caring, sharing and showing who Jesus is will ensure that we grow to look more like Jesus, that we are attractive to those on the outside and will add to our enjoyment of this journey.
Mindset – Philippians 4:8 says to fix our thoughts on what is true, honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable ... excellent and worthy of praise.
Have you noticed that most of the time, the only news that is reported is bad news, the kind that, if you get caught up in it, can cause you to become fearful or anxious? In a world filled with so much chaos, dysfunction, and anxiety, all designed to rob us of our God-given right to enjoy our lives in Christ, it is essential that we guard our hearts and minds by not allowing our focus to be consumed and overtaken by things that will destroy our joy.
That does not mean that we are not concerned by our situations and the state of our nations; of course, we are. However, our focus remains on the one who still rules and whose word remains true. It’s His truth and His person that we focus on.
We pray about everything, giving Him our concerns, and then we rest. We rest because we know that all things will work for our good and that He never leaves us in our struggles; He is at work perfecting our situations and our lives for our place in eternity. We rest because we know that everything in this life is subject to change, but we serve a God who does not change.
Serving – Some of the best moments in life are those times when we selflessly go out of our way to help someone else. Serving others brings us joy; it is easy to get lost in our own needs and troubles, but helping others helps us to transcend our situations. We are blessed by helping, and we really do feel good. Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord.” The kingdom of God is marked by love and serving. As we serve, we demonstrate the love of Christ to each other and to our community at large.
Our joy is a life well lived, demonstrating the love of God and living out His purposes for our lives. To live any other way is to miss His best for us. So be intentional about how you live, and you will enjoy the journey.
Dear Lord, by your grace, help us enjoy this life in you. Thank you for the deposit of the Holy Spirit and the joy that it brings. Help us to work out this joy, help us to rejoice in fellowshipping with the body of believers you have placed us in, that we may be one and love one another. Teach us to serve one another to be of service in our communities. Give us a heart of gratitude so that our delight in you be not hindered. We pray in Jesus Name. Amen
