Intimacy is an incredibly important piece to any meaningful and important relationship, and all of us understand that relationships add value to our lives. We want as many as we can handle, and we want to do the things that are necessary to preserve them, things like sharing experiences, communicating openly and honestly, and doing the things that demonstrate we care and want to be supportive. All of these establish and maintain intimacy in a relationship, and this is the way our Heavenly Father set them up to thrive. It wasn’t us who came up with the framework, it was our brilliant, all-powerful, and all-knowing God. He teaches us through our relationships with one another to honor, preserve, and grow in the intimacy we have in our relationship with Him. As we do, our faith and joy with the Lord will increase.
When it comes to the bountiful treasures our God has provided through Jesus Christ, our cooperation is required. Colossians 2:10(NLT) tells us, “So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” We are completely, completely, complete in Christ, and our minds and hearts must line up with this completeness. God doesn’t force us to walk and operate in it. He has given us free-will, and we are the ones that must change the way we think and believe in our hearts that what God has promised to give us, He has already provided. We must apply our faith in what God says.
It’s takes us a while to get our hearts and minds on board and actually believe that we are complete in Christ in every way, and that we have his faith, joy, authority and power as we walk in his love. Even so, God’s Word is true, and He is such a patient and loving Father. He both waits and helps us to increase in our knowledge of Him so that our faith is where it needs to be. So, the issue is never that God is withholding our joy or withholding our blessings. The issue is that sometimes our minds and hearts are not quite where they need to be. We’re seeking other people and things for our joy. We’re placing our faith in them, and this is causing hiccups and misfires that hinder the right believing that God requires.
1Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is not the author of confusion. Our Heavenly Father is a God of order. He is the One that sets the priorities and organization of how He wants Kingdom matters handled and as His children, we’re to follow what He has set forth. Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 6:33(NLT), “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” God’s Will is that we operate and live with joy and faith because we understand that He is the Source of all our strength, power, and provision. Everything we need, God’s got it! We should be focused on other things, but our focus should be on God and His goodness towards us.
Matthew 6:33 establishes the order in which we are to prioritize our relationship with God. We’re to seek Him first in everything that we attempt to do. He is majestic, brilliant, perfect, holy, righteous, glorious, joyous, and true in every way. He has no equal, and all power is in His hands. He alone deserves all glory, because He alone is glorious. He cannot ever, in all of eternity, be number two. He must always be number one because that is who He is and that is what His sovereignty and supremacy deserves.
Our Heavenly Father cannot be an afterthought and trying to put Him in the number two spot in any regard indicates that we don’t know who He is. If this is how we’re approaching Him, we must change quickly, so that we give God the honor, worship, and praise that He so richly deserves.
Any time that we devote more focus, energy, and resources to something or someone more than we do our Creator, we are stepping into a dangerous zone. We’re forgetting who we are, whose we are, and why we’re here. Philippians 4:4(NLT) tells us, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” This is not a suggestion. It’s a directive. Our Heavenly Father is the Source of our joy, and we can rejoice in Him because He is our provision and protection. He is the Giver of all good things, and this is where our faith must be.
Again, we are complete in Jesus Christ. We were given the joy and faith of Christ the moment we accepted him, and the Holy Spirit came to dwell inside us. Romans 8:5(NLT) says, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit extends to us the fullness of Christ, including the bountiful reality of his faith and joy. They are not determined by external circumstances, conditions, or situations. We have received joy and faith from God through Jesus Christ, and it is our greatest privilege and responsibility to live by them as we walk in the Spirit and share our joy and faith in the Lord with others. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Faith and Joy God Has Given Us”, written for victoryinjesuschrist.life. Copyright© 2024. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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