The Joy of the Lord is Our Strenght - a podcast by David K Payne

“While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life’s joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy.”

– Tim Keller

Hebrews 12:2 NLT Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.

One of the motivating factors for enduring challenging times is the value of the tradeoff.  We see this when people temporarily take a second job to save for a unique vacation or a down payment on a new home. Others choose to go through some harsh treatment for the promise of extended life. It may be denying yourself credit spending for momentary things to be debt-free in a few years and afford anything. These are just a few examples of this phenomenon.

With Advent, the man Christ Jesus did just this for humanity. To position Himself as the Savior of the world, Jesus endured extreme hostility throughout his life.  When Jesus faced death on the cross, and the punishment leading up to it was the culmination of Jesus's sacrifice for your and my life. He saw the strength you and I would receive when we remember His sacrifice, and it provided Him great joy during His most difficult times.

The result is His joy is our strength! He sees our receiving strength from His sacrifice and has joy. We see His Joy in suffering, and we gain strength to face our struggles. James says we should count it all joy when we go through struggles because of what it produces in us. Paul instructs the Romans, in the same way, saying we should glory in our troubles, because of what works in us during this time. The writer of Hebrews states we can face anything triumphantly because we draw strength from considering the suffering of Christ.

For today's devotion, consider what you may be facing, and remember the suffering of Christ. Strength will arise in you to confidently walk through what you are facing. The promise of your strength brought Him joy, and His joy brings you strength. Be amazed at the power of the Gospel and the willingness of Christ to suffer that we might be made strong.

David

 

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