"Joy for Today!"

"And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." (John 16:22 KJV)

  "How long, O LORD, must I call for help? But you do not listen! "Violence is everywhere!" I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, and justice has become perverted." (Habakkuk 1:2-4 NLT)

 More and more, it feels as though there is a fog that has set in, almost as if there is some sort of layer of darkness that has covered the earth, causing people to be unable to see anything that is happening outside of their little bubble. I know that might seem like an exaggeration, but there has got to be some reason for the things that do not get more attention, especially the rights we once had, being stripped away daily! 

 Once again, this is not my world! So why should I care? I should! I must! It is my duty as someone who can shine the Light of the Gospel, especially in the darkness! How is that possible? Aren't you glad that you have been delivered from this? You might not feel that way; as I sometimes do, too. But that is the whole point of why my joy gets put to the side, because it is joy for tomorrow, and not for today! 

 Jesus has given us joy for what He has done; done, meaning that it is already accomplished, so we can actually celebrate it today, even in our tribulations and trials! Those things that don't really matter, because this world cannot take our salvation away; therefore, it cannot take our joy away either, because the work that produced the joy is already done! 

 At this point of the message, we need to double back to the beginning. As it stands, Jesus makes His point about, "A Little While," which is based upon time, meaning time that quickly passes. We have eternity at the door, yet we worry about things that have nothing to do with the eternity that waits, just around the corner. What only matters to our eternity, are those things that will be part of our eternal life: Those things are not things, they are people! 

 Moving along, the illustration Jesus gave about the man being born into the world, that is a life to be celebrated; after much anguish and pain of childbirth, the man has been born! Excuse me if I am not making myself clear, but we have New Life based upon what Jesus Christ has done; and that life we have is for some other place, eternally! Nothing can remove that from us... 

"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." (Philippians 4:4-6 NLT)