Lasting Joy

As promised, I am meditating on JOY and so you won't be surprised that my latest letter over at Letters to My Sisters is on this same topic.  I hope you enjoy it....

My dear sister,

It comes into my soul slowly and softly some days, other days with a force, this joy that fills me from above.  I can’t predict but I can purpose.  Purpose to live with joy.  It’s the newness of the year, the hope of the unknown, the friendship of those close and near, but most of all, it is my Savior and His sacrifice that brings joy. 

You see I often live a deceived life.  You might too.  What are you hoping in?  Is it the next paycheck, the good doctor report (today I’m enjoying one of those), the latest gadget, having the final word?  You fill in the blank…what brings you hope?  I find hope and joy in so many things, and not always in Christ.  But when I’m seeing clearly, my hope and joy are fixed squarely on Christ, as the only TRUE and LASTING source of joy.  All the other counterfeits fizzle out quickly—you know this.  I know this.  Why do we fall?  The allure of sin, omission and commission, it tempts us.  It pulls at our hearts and convinces us that the struggle for true joy in Christ is not worth the fight.  The world with its flashy promises of satisfaction, the flesh, so weak and unwilling at times; these things deprive us of the joy we are meant to live in. 

Continue reading over here at LTMS... 

Related post on The Joy Dare...

Have a great night!

Ruth