Unstealable Joy, by Keith

I posted a note almost a year ago. The point was that God was speaking to me and giving me joy despite being in a place in life that was not naturally enjoyable.

Somewhere between then and now I have been really fighting for joy. I have even lost it in many ways. I have been wondering how to get it back. I want to be joyful. I want to be content. I want to be at peace. But I haven’t been.

Today, I was reviewing some Scripture that I have been reading through and trying to think over some things that had jumped out at me. One of the things I read was in James chapter 1. In the translation I have been reading it says, “When you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy.” This a pretty radical and even strange expectation.

So, why should I consider all trials of life (especially the one I am in now) nothing but joy? As I read on it gives the answer “because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance…so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”

So here’s what I’m learning. The testing of my faith produces better faith, which means in the end, I will be closer to the one I put my faith in. That’s Jesus of course. But for this to motivate me to be joyful, I must value my relationship with Jesus more than anything. If my connection with God is not that important to me, I would not want to be joyful in trials. I wouldn’t care about that particular result. I must value Him even more than that which I have lost in this trial. Like a ministry. Like the status of being a real life missionary. Like our friends we left. Like Russia. Like financial security. And on and on.

I am learning that I have valued some of those things even more than Christ and my relationship with Him. I want those things back, or similar things, to replace them. Jesus has not been enough. I haven’t lost Him, but He has not consistently been supremely valuable to me.

I am praying my heart is changed by Him, so that He becomes that. I am learning that this is not going to be a simple choice to change. It will entail more than singing a praise song at church or just declaring this is what I want. It will entail wrestling deep in my soul to make my Savior all that I need. No matter what else I have or not. For me, that is the secret to unstealable joy.

Psalms 37

I have wanted a lot lately. I have a huge wish list and a many frustrations! Yesterday, I actually said, “I wish God would have blessed me with a rich husband.” And my friend responded, “You have a husband that is rich in what matters.” In my desire to pull myself from another pitiful funk, I came across Oneplace.com, which is a wealth of wisdom, encouragement and fabulous sermons! I have listed to The Longing Heart by Briscoe at least 4 times trying to grasp all the insight!

Lessons for life…

1.Good will eventually prevail.

2. God will eternally triumph.

3. Grace will continually flow.

4. Godliness will ultimately satisfy.

Disciplines in life…

1. Trust in the Lord and do what is right.

2. Delight myself in the Lord that He will give me a new set of desires!

3. Commit my way to the Lord and trust in Him…I must commit AND trust!

PSALM 37

Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong.

For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants.

Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely.

Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act,

making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.

Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the man who carries out evil plans.

Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.

For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for him, he will not be there.

But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity.

The wicked schemes against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him.

The Lord laughs at him because He sees that his day is coming.

The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the bow to bring down the afflicted and needy and to slaughter those whose way is upright.

Their swords will enter their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

Better the little that the righteous man has than the abundance of many wicked people.

For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord supports the righteous.

The Lord watches over the blameless all their days, and their inheritance will last forever.

They will not be disgraced in times of adversity; they will be satisfied in days of hunger.

But the wicked will perish; the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures, will fade away—they will fade away like smoke.

The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous is gracious and giving.

Those who are blessed by Him will inherit the land, but those cursed by Him will be destroyed.

A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way.

Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand.

I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging bread.

He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing.

Turn away from evil and do what is good, and dwell there forever.

For the Lord loves justice and will not abandon His faithful ones. They are kept safe forever, tbut the children of the wicked will be destroyed.

The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it permanently.

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom; his tongue speaks what is just.

The instruction of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter.

The wicked lies in wait for the righteous and seeks to kill him;

the Lord will not leave him in his hand or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.

Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land. You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.

I have seen a wicked, violent man well-rooted like a flourishing native tree.

Then I passed by and noticed he was gone; I searched for him, but he could not be found.

Watch the blameless and observe the upright, for the man of peace will have a future.

But transgressors will all be eliminated; the future of the wicked will be destroyed.

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, their refuge in a time of distress.

The Lord helps and delivers them; He will deliver them from the wicked and will save them, because they take refuge in Him.

A Lesson Learned...

I learned a very insightful, powerful lesson today, in the bathroom with ME. I often wonder why ME is the way she is. Why does she ask sooo many questions? Why is she sooo stubborn? Why is she sooo defiant? Why is she sooo independent and sooo demanding?

We went to Enid this morning and met my parents for lunch. ME had to go to the bathroom and insisted that I join her. As she was taking care of business, she mentioned how warm the seat was. I wanted to try and had some of my own business to take care of...the seat was heated!!! ME and I were chatting and I noticed a remote control and a chart. Of course not interested enough to read the details, instructions or even what the remote control was really for...I pushed one of the buttons that said kid. If it said KID...how bad could it be?!?! Water...or at least I hope it was WATER...started shooting out of the toilet...THE TOILET...like a fountain, onto the wall!!! ME was on one side of the fountain and I was on the other. She was screaming, "I am scarred, go get Grandma!!!" I tried to reach over the flow of water, to grab the remote, which ended up falling onto the floor. After what felt like FOREVER and praying that the water would stop, I told ME to just crawl under. Picturing her bending over, she got on her hands and knees and crawled under the fountain, but through the puddle of water!!! I dried ME off and as I reached for the door to leave the nightmare, the water stopped. Thankfully lunch was over and we just headed straight for the exit...and laughed all the way home.

Sooo, why is ME the way she is??? Because, her sweet, loving, inquisitive, indepentdent, bold mommy is the way she is!!! I love you, ME!!!

Lessons I Am Learning...Or At Least Trying!!!

I just finished the final day of Beth Moore's Stepping Up: a journey through the Psalms of Ascent. Even though it is a six week study, it has taken me almost half a year! I have had many distraction, done several other studies, but have continued my journey with the Lord through these precious Psalms. It has been amazing the way the Lord has used this study to speak to me over the past 6 months. He has taught me to cry out to Him, "A Psalmist not only gives God praise but also pours out their heart in intimate disclosure"; He has surrounded me with His mercy, protection and righteousness; He has calmed my spirit as we walk with Him through this journey; He has reminded me of His faithfulness and goodness; and today He taught me about being blessed.

"To bless God is to acknowledge gratefully what He is; but to bless men, God must make of him what he is not and give him want he has not." The more we learn about God, the more we understand that the primary reason He asks us to surrender everything to Him is to make room to receive what He wants to give.

JOY

It is 2 AM and I can't sleep! I am stressed about Gideon's behavior, school environment and "tired of Gideon coming home with battle wounds"...a quote from my husband's Facebook. Keith recently joined Facebook and I love reading his thoughts, banter with friends and whatever else he shares. I just read a note Keith posted and wanted to share it here, since it is The 4 Sullivans, but I am the only Sullivan to ever write and to share with those of you non-Facebook readers...that would be you, Granny!!!

Joy, by Keith...the head, wisest and best of the 4
For some of you this has no interest at all. But I just felt led to share some of what I have been going through lately. Maybe it will be an encouragement to somebody. Maybe doing this is more for me, than anybody else. Since we found out we are not going back to Russia any time soon, it has been the greatest wilderness experience I have ever had, since I have been a Christian. I got serious about my faith as I ended out high school. From that time, I never remember a time in my life when I didn’t have, at least, a somewhat clear idea of what God wanted me to be doing and what He had for me in the near future. It seemed I have always had some kind of direction. But now, I don’t. God is speaking to me and teaching me, but He is not showing me direction. Not showing me where He wants me to head. But he has been speaking to me. Just not in the way I would naturally prefer. As I look through my journal from the past few weeks, here are some things that he has taught me by His word:
1. Rely on the Lord, not on people. 2 Chron. 15-16
2. Sometimes we don’t know what do to, but our eyes must be always on Him. 2 Chron 19-20
3. God is able to restore to you more than you have lost. 2 Chron. 25-26
4. Adversity comes from God. Job 1-2
5. All old people are not wise. Job 31-32
6. What God does, He does so that we fear Him. Eccl. 3-4
7. Trust in God. Do not be afraid. Ps. 56
8. God gives me strength and power because I am His. Ps. 68
9. My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart. Draw near to God. Put your trust in Him. Ps. 73
10. My God is the God who does wonders. Ps. 77
11. Listen to Him. Walk in His ways. He longs to bless us for it. Ps. 81
12. His footsteps are my pathway. Ps. 85
13. Ps. 93. With a God like this, who would have a reason to worry about anything?
14. Shout, Serve, Come, Know, Thank, and Praise. Ps. 100
15. I can expect great provisions from God. Ps. 105
16. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He will give me food. Ps. 111
17. Fear and Delight! Ps. 112
18. Fear the Lord. Trust the Lord. Ps. 115
19. The Lord is on my side. He is for me. Ps. 118
20. Seek Him with a whole heart and obey Him the same way. Then He can revive me and make me understand. Ps. 119
21. Trust in the Lord, for He surrounds me like a mountain range. Ps. 125
22. I trust Psalm 126 comes true for me.
23. Wait for the Lord. Hope in Him. Ps. 130
24. The command of Jesus is to persevere. Rev. 3
25. Do not worry about clothes or money. Seek Him first. Mt. 6
26. Jesus is at peace with my troubles. Mk. 4-5
Until looking back through these things today, I had forgotten many of these things. Remembering them brings great Joy.
Blessings to you.

What a great guy and even though we are in the wilderness and we all have battle wounds...I am glad we all get to wander through it together...I just pray it doesn't last for 40 years!!!

Lessons I Am Learning...Or At Least Trying!!!

"Sometimes we arrive at a place where we can either lose or gain ground, but returning to life as it was before is no longer an option."
"God's ways are higher than ours, but we do not have to understand Him to settle the matter in our hearts that we can trust Him."
Quoted from Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed: A Study of David.