Time For Joy - Part 3

I don't know about you but I love a great fairytale!  I love the ones where the princes comes riding in on his horse and sweeps away all the bad stuff.   I guess I love those fairy tales the most because it reminds me of my prince who came galloping into my life and swept away all the bad stuff.  Then I think of Him riding in one great day on His white stallion to take me to my eternal home..... I look for Jesus and His return for me with great joy.

Back to fairy tales....

Once upon a time.   A great start for a fairytale, right? 

It's where the author usually begins a story and then spins a tale of horrible circumstances.  Those horrible circumstances then provide opportunity for a hero to eventually emerge and save the day.

Interesting that most fairy tales start with people under duress, with obstacles that seem overwhelming.  I guess there must be something horrible to overcome for there to be a need for a hero.

So I thought today I would start with a tale... not a fairytale but a real tale. 

Once upon a time there was an angel.  He was the most gloriously beautiful angel ever created.  One day he decided he was way to beautiful to take orders from anyone.  He set upon himself that instead of serving God, he would be not an angel but be himself a God.  Because of his pride and conceit he decided that he would not serve but be served.  Angered by his pride, God stripped him from his position and cast him out of heaven.  He would now be stuck and roam the earth until the time of his destruction would be fulfilled.  This once beautiful angel took on a hideous form.  His heart boiled with anger, bitterness and wrath for the God that had cast him out of heaven and cursed his beauty.  Because of his bitterness, he swore vengeance on anyone and anything that bore the mark of God.  The earth and all its creations bore the mark of its creator, so he caused destruction by making man fall into sin. 

Enters us, human beings created in the image of God.  The bane of this hideous creatures existence.  We make his blood boil with venom.  So he picks at us, pokes us, pushes us and sometimes flat out harms us.  He harmed the earth with the fall of man causing it to be in the process of decay.  Because of that process of decay we see natural disasters that fall on the head of man and bring him great suffering. Because every part of life is now in the process of destruction, even our bodies fail us.  Our outer bodies are on the path to death and they are riddled with things that cause us hardship and suffering.   Because of this tale of destruction of an angel, we people on this earth deal with great spiritual warfare and wrath.  So because of this real tale, joy in our circumstances is fleeting.  It comes and goes with the ebbs and tides of a dying world around us.  This is why we can not count on our joy being only in our circumstances.

Psalm 16:11 says this...You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your righthand are pleasures forevermore.

Here on earth our joys are transient and only momentary.  This is fitting for an earth such as ours that is in the process of decay.  Its the nature of things to come and go.  It's not the nature of circumstances while here on earth to be long lasting.  Our troubles come and go.... they stay for a while and then the tide changes.  With a new tide comes a new circumstance. 

Our true fullness of joy can only be manifested in the presence of God.  When we join Him at His righthand, meaning heaven, we will enjoy the lasting pleasures of joyful circumstances forevermore.  It is then that our circumstances will not change our joy. 

So for now.... while on this earth, we must understand that joy can be fleeting if we look for it only in the circumstances of life.   We must place out joy on something that cannot change.

MORE ON THAT TOMORROW... THE JOY THAT DOESN'T CHANGE.