Today we are going to take a posture of peace by practicing the privilege of joy.
Posture is a short audible fist bump to remind you God is with you in everything. Together,
we're going to be emboldened to take a daily posture of perfect peace.
In Luke chapter 2 verses 10 and 11, the angel says to the shepherds in the field,
Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.
Now in last week's episode, we were talking about walking in the spirit,
really living in our identity in Christ. And I encourage you to pick a fruit and walk in it.
Now the fruit that I chose, I didn't tell you this last week, but the fruit I chose
to walk in is joy. During this holiday season, there is so much focus on joy, right? And I think
it's really cool when you think about how during the season, most of the world, not just the
children of God, people in the kingdom, but most of the world recognizes in some form or another,
the atmosphere of joy that is swirling around us. And it's as if the joyous good news that
the angel proclaimed thousands of years ago is still reverberating within creation itself.
This is the power of the word of God. It goes into all of eternity. And so we're still
experiencing that joyous proclamation even now, even a world who may not know that is what they
are experiencing. Now in Hebrews chapter 15, verse 13, we've been in that scripture many times as a
pastor community. It says, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in
him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So I've been asking
the Lord to expand my understanding of joy, expand my experience of joy, because joy and peace partner
together in raising our expectation of God's goodness in our lives. That's hope. They also
partner together in developing a deeper trust in him. And I want that. I want this to be my lifestyle.
And I know that in order for this to be my lifestyle, to live fully aware and fully activated
by Christ in me, the practice of joy is essential. Jesus said in John chapter 15, now this is the
chapter where he is talking about abiding in him and remaining in his love. In that chapter, in
verse 11, he says, these things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may
be full. Other translations say your joy may be complete, basically so that you have a joy
that is not lacking. A full joy that can stand up to anything, hold up in all times, in any situation.
This joy is the divine privilege of the sons and daughters of God. The gospel, the good news,
is for all people, like the angel said. But not all people, unfortunately, receive it.
And unfortunately, not all people who receive it choose to live in it in the here and now. They
think it is for the distant future. They think it's for heaven. They literally live a lifestyle
that says, I will be glad when, instead of choosing to live in what Jesus died for now.
The world, they taste and see joy. We can see that now in this season. Most of the world is
doing that, but they can't experience the full joy outside of Christ. That's why it's our privilege.
And I think it's something we should take advantage of. Just like all the fruit of the spirit, peace,
patience, love, kindness, all of it, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God gave us
not an escape route from this world. He gave us himself so that in this world and throughout all
of eternity, we would be partakers of his divine nature, the fruit of his spirit.
We would participate, partner by being in union with him. The fruit of God's spirit, his nature,
these characteristics, it's our privilege. It's our inheritance. It is now our identity because
we are identified in Christ. There's no separating ourselves from it. That's good news. I don't want
to just know that. I want to live it every single day. And as we've talked about many times, practice
makes permanent, right? So I've been asking the Lord, how can I practice joy? And I've been asking
him, I think in order to practice it, I need to know what it is, right? Like, what is joy? I can
think of physical expressions of joy, like laughter or praise. I can think of emotional expressions of
joy, like the feeling of joy.
of contentment, elation. But what is it? And this is what I heard him say. Joy is embracing
the beauty. Joy is embracing the beauty. Now, I want to read you something that
David wrote in Psalm chapter 16. I love Psalm chapter 16.
And in Psalm 16, David is actually prophesying Christ. So it's pretty cool,
especially in the season, to consider that David was prophesying all this. But in verse 8,
David says, I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not
be shaken. Just take a minute and soak in the depth of trust that David is walking in as he
prophesies this. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells
secure. For you will not abandon my soul to the realm of the dead, or let your Holy One see
corruption. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy.
At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
God said joy is embracing the beauty. And as I've been practicing it, I realize it's really
embracing the beauty of God himself, God with me, God in me. As his sons and daughters, we have been
given eyes to see, to be attuned to, to be aware of. Not what he's doing or not doing, though that
is important. But it's not just that. Before it's that, it's seeing who he is. It's seeing the beauty
of him, his nature. Now, not all life is beautiful. I know I don't have to tell you that. I'm sure
you've experienced that. But joy is not bypassing ugly circumstances. What joy is, is it's our
navigator in all of those ugly circumstances. It's what sustains us and empowers us. It takes us
through it. Nehemiah 8.10 says, the joy of the Lord is your strength. And I am experiencing that
as I practice this in depths I did not even know were possible before. So I want to encourage you
to practice, take advantage of this privilege of complete joy that you have.
There's a lot of good advice and worldly wisdom out there on how to navigate the hustle and bustle
of these holy days. How to do the holidays when you're grieving, how to navigate the pressures
of life, how to organize busy schedules, all of it. But any advice outside of Christ will eventually
fall short. I was feeling some angst yesterday. I was feeling a lot of angst yesterday. And it wasn't
just one thing. It was, it felt like it was everything. It was grieving the loss of people
I'm not going to be spending the holidays with this year. It was trying to navigate just the
busyness of life, trying to end the year well and start the new year right. And it was just everything.
But I'm beginning to recognize that that feeling of angst, that pressure, that weight is not my norm.
So I don't have to live with it. I don't have to live in it because I'm in relationship with the
Prince of Peace. So when I experience it, I have to choose something else. And so I chose to practice
joy. I chose to embrace the beauty around me. And it looked a little bit like Thanksgiving, allowing
gratitude to uproot discontentment. It looked a little bit like surrender, releasing condemnation
that was trying to get me to focus on it shouldn't be this way, releasing judgment that wanted me to
focus on it should be this way. It looked a little bit like renewing my mind, stopping the scroll on
my screen. More importantly, stopping the scroll in my mind that was ruminating on negativity and
instead thinking on what was true and honorable and lovely. What it looked like was using my free
will to choose to believe God's word, his report over any other word and report that was trying to
speak to me. Maybe you're feeling angst too in this season. Maybe it's the pressures of a busy life
weighing on you. Maybe it's the heaviness of loss. Maybe it's both. Maybe it's all those things.
You don't have to bypass it. But I want to encourage you to embrace the beauty of him
who is with you in it. Grieve with hope. Let go of shame and condemnation. Disempower disappointment.
Walk away from striving to live a perfect life and live in perfect peace.
Brace the beauty of Him. It is your privilege, so take advantage of it.