"Eternally His"

"He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy." (Psalms 72:13) I do not pretend that I don't have bad days, because, if you have been following this blog for any amount of time, then you know that I do; but God has not called me into some kind of fairy tale life where everything is sweet and there are no disruptions; some days are hard, and they feel darkened by life in general. I really don't want to be that kind of guy that walks around like his life is a mess, but sometimes it's hard to pretend that it's not. But isn't that what the joy is meant to be about? We can wish for happiness all day long, every day of our lives, but it's not about being happy; there is absolutely no way that I can be happy about this life, because this life is not dishing out happy endings. But joy, on the other hand, is more about what is to come! If you stop and think about this, our lives are not meant to be free from pain and suffering, otherwise we would not have to endure any of it, and everything would be wonderful. This is about eternity; whether you agree with it or not, every single life on this earth is dealing with an eternal destination. Do you know where your eternal destination is going to be? If you are sure that it is in heaven, then you should have joy in your heart; if you are not sure, then any joy you experience is based upon happiness, which is here today and gone tomorrow. I know, it's not the current new way of thinking; I have heard the new "Happiness Is A Life" way of thinking, and I think that it is rubbish. We are meant to be happy, there is no doubt about that, but that does not mean that we don't feel the pain and the suffering of this life, because it's real, and it's not going to get any better any time soon. My mom would always tell me, "Be happy with what you have been given." It is more easy to do that if you don't know anything about what you don't have, because as soon as you do, you are no longer happy with just what you have. That is really are biggest downfall, wanting what we do not have; if it wasn't for knowing what is available, then living with what you have been given would be easy, and being happy with only that would not be an issue. On the flip side of all of this happiness stuff, there is another perspective that needs to be examined; the focus needs to be taken off of what we have, and needs to be placed on to whom we belong. I am the property of Christ Jesus, so that is where real joy comes from... "What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don't they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can't get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong -you want only what will give you pleasure. You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit of God has placed within us is filled with envy? But He gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, "God opposes the proud but favors the humble." So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor." (James 4:1-10) NLT