Glorious Joy - A Vision For The New Year

In almost every way 2008 has been the worst year of my life...but it has also been the best year of my life in almost every way. I have experienced some of the deepest betrayals but also the most profound healing of my heart wrought by the Holy Spirit and Christ's body, the Church. I have seen dreams die but I have also seen God fulfill His desires for me...desires that fill me with joy. I have wept and I have laughed. I have despaired and I have hoped. I have died and I have truly lived. Such is life under the hand of a sovereign God Who works all things out for my good.

At every moment that I began to see light at the end of the tunnel another devastating blow would be dealt that brought more heartache and more sorrow. With every disappointment would come a lesson from the Lord and these lessons are precious.

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:6-7

You see, without suffering and trials there can be no growth. Without difficult circumstances and sorrow in this world, our faith would not be so clearly displayed for all to see and Christ would not be so clearly revealed to be the greatest treasure of the universe. This text makes it very clear to us what the purpose of our suffering in this world is - that our faith may be proven to be genuine and that this faith will result in praise and glory and honor for God in Jesus Christ. Let me try to explain:

1. If God is truly your treasure, you will not run away from Him or let go of Him simply because life is difficult and He has brought some painful hardships your way. No! You will cling ever more tightly to Him and you will seek your treasure in Him - letting go of the treasures of this world. In short, God will be revealed to all around you as the all-satisfying and glorious treasure of your life. As you weep tears of sadness but also acknowledge His endless goodness you will show that He is worth losing all things for. As you go through the pain while worshipping Him you will be giving a testimony to the profound worth that is in Jesus Christ. You will find for yourself and show to the world that your joy is found in Christ and in Christ alone. You may lose friends, family, wealth, reputation and all worldly hope, but your joy and satisfaction will come from finding that your faith is genuine and that you belong to Jesus Christ.

"Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:18-21

2. Not only will you faith be proven as genuine and your joy be full because Christ alone is your treasure, but Christ Himself will be praised and glorified as those around you see that He is your treasure. Those who look on (among them may be those who hurt or betrayed you) will see that your joy is not found in this world but in a person, Jesus Christ. That must make them wonder at how worthy and glorious Christ really is and it will cause the angels in the heavenly realms to give praise, glory and honor to God. Not only that, when Christ is your treasure in this way, you are also giving praise, glory and honor to Him.

"Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible ad filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8-9

This text is found immediately following Peter's discourse on the purpose of suffering and is intended to remind us that Christ is honored and glorified as we are satisfied in Him, despite our circumstances. Oh, the joy of knowing Christ and beholding Him by faith. The glorious joy that is felt, experienced and radiated as we look to Him (Psalm 34:5) brings glory, praise and honor to Him. And notice how God is glorified here...by and through our joy in Him. I have said this a million times and I will probably say it a million times more: God's glory and our joy are not two separate things - they are one and the same. God is glorified by our glorious joy in Him; as God is glorified we are filled with joy and as we are filled with joy, God is glorified.

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever." Romans 11:36

This is my vision for 2009. I want Christ to be honored in my body whether by life or by death; whether in good times or bad; whether I have friends or not; whether I am wealthy or poor; whether life goes my way or my life falls apart...I want Jesus Christ as my treasure and nothing or no one else. I want the world to see how beautiful, satisfying, and glorious Christ is and this will happen as I live my life in Him, cherishing Him as my treasure and worshiping Him in the best and the worst of times...though His worth is most clearly seen in the worst of times.

How great is our God and how worthy of praise, glory and honor! May God fill you with His Spirit in the New Year and may He be your treasure. May you be enraptured with Him and His beauty and may you desire to live in peace with those in the body...not just peace, but an interconnectedness that goes way beyond friendship to oneness in the Body of Christ.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

Kristian

Reflection

The other day I posed a question that just "randomly" came to my mind to some of the members of my household. I asked them how would it feel to live in a world where you could not see your own reflection at all. Let us say there was no means of seeing your own reflection...no mirrors...no water reflection...no cameras...no apparatus that would allow you to see your image.

I really did not know why this philosophical type of question came to my mind. One of the first thoughts that came to my mind about this question involved the Trinity of God. Where the Bible says in Colossians 1 that Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God. So, Jesus is the reflection or image of what God thinks of Himself and at the very same time being a unique eternal person of the Trinity of God.

Although this is true and one could come up with perhaps many different "angles" that fit into the question I posed earlier about reflection. I believe God was speaking to me about a different angle primarily one that deals with the issue of faith.

Let me explain, after this original question came to my mind I had several conversations with various friends over the weekend about faith, prayer, overcoming sin, purity, etc.

This Sunday morning as I picked up the book I am currently reading by A.W. Tozer called The Pursuit of God. I now know what the Lord was trying to tell me through that particular philosophical question that was ingrained in my mind earlier in the week.

The following quote from Tozer really touched me and I hope it is a blessing to you as well:

"Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarely conscious of its own existence. Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves - blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do.

Faith is not in itself a meritorious act; the merit is in the One toward Whom it is directed. Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be, and is perilously close to the sin of Lucifer who said, "I will set my throne above the throne of God." Faith looks out instead of in and the whole life falls into line."