Joy: A Valuable Asset

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By:  Richard Gazowsky

The car that I am now driving is a Ford Fusion.  It is a hybrid car that operates by using two different power sources ~ one with electricity and the other gasoline.  The most unique part of this system is that the electrical engine has the ability to generate electricity and store power in the batteries (which the gasoline engine is unable to do), while once you use up the gas it cannot be resupplied unless you go to a gas station.  This hybrid technology has caused me to do some thinking about my own spirit.

There are certain things in your life that once they are used up the power is gone.  But then there are things in your spirit that can be constantly renewed and regenerated, and so guarantee you emotional and physical power that you can use in your daily life.  One of these things is joy.  “The joy of the Lord is your strength,” the Bible says.  In another reference Peter declared that it is “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

These Scriptures show us that joy is something that can be stored up for use at a later time.  For example, you can think of your upcoming vacation and the things that you are planning on doing, and just mentally rehearsing them will bring joy to your spirit.  This especially works well if you recall a moment where you and God experienced a great victory, and then you can believe for a similar kind of victory in the future.  This literally sets your spirit up to be rejuvenated during a potential low or discouraging moment.

Brother Timothy prophesied to us that throughout the prophecies that had been given to us this year we were to constantly focus on the joy of the Lord.  As a matter of fact, he told us that having fun was the primary word for this year!  I believe that the reason he gave this word is because joy is a reusable asset that we must fill our spiritual tanks with so it can give us power to go through any trial and tribulation that we face.

For example, over the last few weeks God has increased my exercise schedule.  But I also have had a sharp pain going up the nerve center of one of my legs.  Anytime that pain strikes me I immediately plug into the asset of joy that is in my spirit, I recall one of the many projects that the Lord has put in front of me, and I think of the joy that is going to come when I complete each one.  Wow!  It really turns things around!  Now mind you, the pain in my leg is still there, but my response has become completely different.  I giggle and rejoice because I know the pain will soon be gone and the joy will live on forever.

Each one of us can learn to use joy as an asset that can be stored up.  In quiet times of contemplation I have found myself mentally rehearsing the list of exuberant joyful assets that God has given me in my life.  Take my wife for instance.  I dwell on her beauty, her encouraging pleasant-sounding voice, and the multiple things she does daily to make my life experiences more pleasant.  Next I go to the assets of my children.

I marvel at how my son and two daughters provide me with intricate levels of encouragement through our daily interactions with each other.  And then, of course, my thoughts go to my mother (who is 90 years old and is still living with us) and the wonderful joyous communications we have with each other each day ~ from our good morning conversations, our walk through the nearby mall, and ending with her fellowshipping with the family as she prepares to go to bed.

As I rehearse each of these heartwarming experiences in my mind, I find joy flowing out from the fond remembrances.  These mental exercises actually flood my daily thoughts with the joy of the Lord.  And to top it all off, God has set me on unique projects that are so overwhelming in their scope for my own ability to accomplish, that they bring me to Olympic champion-level joy.  In fact, the challenge is so great that when engaging in each one of the tasks, I experience the chill bumps of adventures similar to sailing out into an unbridled ocean toward an unstoppable future.  Wow, what a way to live!

If you can just get the picture.  What I am trying to do is to mentally rehearse every string of thoughts that go through my mind, and make sure that every jot, tittle, sentence, and paragraph is covered with the sugarcoated joy of the Lord.  I believe this is the secret to true success.  The zeal of the Lord has consumed me!

This is a weekly email written by Richard Gazowsky, Pastor of A Place To Meet Jesus church in San Francisco. If you would like to opt-out from this weekly email, simply click on the SafeUnsubscribe link below.