It Will be My Joy to Say

Much of my life has been relatively easy. Comfortable. Convenient. Low risk. Not much sacrifice. But along the way, there have been moments where my faith has been tested. Where I've had to let wrestle the fleshly and spiritual parts of my being. And in those moments there has been an internal bleeding of the soul because of the declaration of war for my life; God's will or mine.

As a Christian for more than 25 years, I've heard (literally) hundreds of songs pertaining to faith and God. And of all the songs I've read, sang, or hummed, the most difficult has undoubtedly been, "It will be my joy to say 'Your will, Your way.'" (Lay Me Down - Chris Tomlin)

Some may wonder, "What's the big deal?" And, to be honest, that was me, at first. Just living in the moment of raised hands, mindlessly singing amid the smoke and lights filtering the room.

Here was my reality; my theology was colliding with my experience. When what seemed to be more overwhelming than the joy I thought God could bring I found myself singing the song in one breath and ultimately denying it in the next. In church. Lying in church. Talk about a hypocrite! And it was crushing me!

But somewhere along the way, I found the gem of God's relentless grace. I have seen God's unconditional love taking me through every season of life to make me more like His Son, and I know that He has the power to produce the joy that can only be experienced through knowing and doing His will.

Will we soon believe that joy, real joy, God-produced joy can be experienced in all seasons of life? Not until we realize that God is greater than our struggle. Greater than our past. Greater than all the blemishes we are trying to hide. Greater than our sin. Greater than the life we are trying to create for ourselves in our own strength. Greater than the grip of the lying, deceitful, God-opposing enemy who is offering the goods that many will settle for as a cheap substitute of God's grace and goodness.

If your season of life seems unbearable, if you're thinking about giving up, if you're questioning if this whole "God thing" is worth it, know that it's absolutely worth it to press on. Life will produce sorrow but joy will come with the morning (Ps 30:5). Life will make us weary but the joy of the Lord will be our strength (Neh 8:10). He will make a way for you to sing "It will be my joy to say Your will, Your way, Always!"

Where Are You?

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." This has become an obvious point of debate among the world of science and theology. But perhaps when the reader goes beyond the date of when it all began to the place of where it all began to fall apart we see the essence of correct theology from a Christian perspective.

Let's just assume that the narrative of the Bible is true (Gen 1-2). Not to debate times and places based on writings or artifacts. But that maybe it really did happen the way it was written.

Adam and Eve were walking around in the Garden of Eden. Minding their own business, enjoying one another's company, eating the vegetation produced among the earth, mingling with the creatures, and responsibly displaying a deep appreciation of all that they were given.

And then one day...

There was a creature with an incredible ability not only to speak, but to cunningly and deceitfully convince these two humans to act irresponsibly by disobeying the one command given to them in the garden.

And the consequences...

They were naked and ashamed. They were already undressed yet perfectly content, but now there came a sense of shame for their deeds before ever encountering the Person whose law they had disobeyed (Gen 3).

What is so stunning is how God initiates the dialogue with Adam and Eve. "Where are you?" Consider that question as opposed to "What have you done?" I think the question God asks sets the tone of His intentions.

God's primary objective is not to question our acts of disobedience. His primary objective is to pinpoint our location. Why? Because His primary objective is not condemnation rather reconciliation (Rom 8:1).