Choosing Joy – Obeying God in Spite of Feelings

 “The Communists believe that happiness comes from material satisfaction; but alone in my cell, cold, hungry, and in rags, I danced for joy every night.” – Richard Wurmbrand 

At the age of twenty-five Richard Wurmbrand was a successful businessman. He had wealth and influence and had taken full advantage of the pleasures that the world had to offer. Still he was far from being happy. In April 23rd's post, Count it All Joy, you can read how God changed Richard from a man who refused to accept salvation, for fear of the difficulty that accompanied it, into a pastor who prayed that he might bear a cross for his Saviour’s sake. It was in Christ that Richard found the joy that he was unable to get from material goods.

'The Communists believe that happiness comes from material satisfaction' and we, as North Americans, often fall into the belief that happiness, or joy, is a feeling that we cannot control. It comes and it goes - dictated by our surroundings or even our mood. We believe that if we don’t feel joyful than we can not have joy. But Richard Wurmbrand found this assumption also to be false. Suffering starvation, isolation, and cold, as a prisoner of the Communist government, Richard didn’t just feel joy. Sessions of physical and emotional torture don't naturally result in a joyful mood. Yet despite his feelings, rather than because of them, Richard Wurmbrand had joy. How?

He chose it. The abundance of joy that he had found in the presence of His Savior had not ceased to be available to him when he was locked into a prison cell. Anymore than it was stolen from Paul and Silas when they were flogged, thrown into an inner cell, and fastened into stocks (Acts xvi. 22-25). God commands His people over and over again to ‘rejoice’, a word that means to choose or show happiness or joy; to be glad. In the English language emotions, like sad or happy, are adjectives. The word rejoice, however, is a verb – an action word. It is a choice, an action -a movement of soul, to rejoice.  

In Psalm xvi.11 David wrote, “You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” As Christians, we have been given access to source of joy, who is Christ Himself. However, as it takes a conscious decision to walk to the sink and fill up your empty water glass so it takes a decision to come to Christ and receive the joy that He offers. Paul, Silas, and Richard Wurmbrand all made the decision to take their eyes off of the prison cells that surrounded them, to push aside the feelings of sorrow, self pity, and despair and to look at Jesus instead.

“Obedience to God is always possible. It is a deadly error to fall into the notion that when feelings are extremely strong we can do nothing about them.” – Elisabeth Elliot

In last weeks post, Did God Really Say?, we found that it is truly God’s will for us to rejoice always and to give thanks in all circumstances in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians v. 16 - 18). This is done by faith in Christ Jesus. By believing that the circumstances don’t actually factor into our ability to have joy, unless we allow them to keep us from turning our eyes onto Jesus, who remains good and faithful in every situation. When we believe this we begin to feel joy when naturally we should feel sorrow.

“Sometimes I was so filled with joy that I felt I would burst if I did not give it expression. I remembered the words of Jesus, “Blessed are you when men come to hate you, when they exclude you from their company and reproach you and cast out your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!”

I told myself, “I’ve carried out only half of this command. I’ve rejoiced, but is that enough? Jesus clearly says we must also leap.”

When the next guard peered through the spy hole, he saw me springing about my cell. His orders must have been to distract anyone who showed signs of breakdown, for he padded off and returned with some food from the staff room: a hunk of bread, some cheese, and sugar. As I took them I remembered how the verse in Luke went on: “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy – for behold your reward is great.” It was a very large piece of bread – more than a week’s ration!” – Richard Wurmbrand, In God’s Underground

As he had chosen joy, so then did Pastor Wurmbrand choose to stand up in his cell and leap. In both cases God rewarded his obedience and He will ours as well. 

In Christ

quiana

Did God Really Say? - Choosing not to Compromise

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians v. 16 - 18)

I have overheard or been part of several conversations on this verse and have found that there are more Christians making excuses as to why they cannot actually apply the commands it contains, than those believing that God meant what He said and has made it possible for us to obey. Many Christians are actually convinced that they can't rejoice, or give thanks, in every circumstance. Surely, God must understand that some situations just don't lend themselves to that sort of attitude! 

We also tend to stumble on the part about praying without ceasing. Our common sense tells us that is quite simply impossible. A person can pray a lot, but if they prayed always they could never get anything else done! If we moderate these expectations the spiritual walk of the Christian suddenly becomes a whole lot easier. Or does it? At the end of the verse we read, 'this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you' and that should cause us to pause. If these commands really are the very will of God for our lives, as His word states, then how can we write them off?

 I will always remember a time when my Sunday School teacher said that Jesus' command to "be perfect as I am perfect" (Matthew v.48) meant to 'be mature'. The little girl who had been told that God's word was completely accurate and should never be changed kept thinking, when He said be perfect as I am perfect, He meant be perfect as I am perfect! Being mature isn't the same thing. When I got a bit older I put that interpretation of the verse on trial. What I found was that it wasn't only in Matthew v.48 that God gave His people such a command. All the way back in Leviticus He said, "consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy." (Leviticus xi.44) and "be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy." (Leviticus xix.2). As I continued to cross reference I found that the books of Philippians and James also taught that Christians should be perfect and that Peter quoted the phrase 'be holy, because He is holy', in 1 Peter 1:15-16. When God repeats something in His word, and especially if He does so several times, it is because He wants us to take note of it. It's something that He really wants us to pay attention to and understand. In the same way as I would use an italic or bold font to make a word or statement stand out to you, God puts emphasis on a point by repeating it. In none of these references can the word mature be considered to be a viable substitute for perfect or holy. So the Sunday School lesson was wrong - Jesus didn't mean be mature, He actually meant to be perfect, as He is perfect. In the teacher's defence, that would have been a more complicated lesson to teach to second and third graders. But I am convinced, that the class would have been better off going away a little confused than totally misinformed. So would each of us when it comes to 1 Thessalonians v.16 -18 and other verses like it.

Let's put this command to 'pray without ceasing' to the same test as I did with Matthew v.48. It happens that this command too appears in God's word in more than one place. In Luke xviii.1 for example, Jesus told His disciples a parable in order to teach them that "men ought always to pray and never to lose heart" and in Ephesians vi. 18 Paul instructs Christians to, “pray at all times...with all perseverance”. The words always, at all times, and without ceasing are clearly not synonymous with words like often or frequently. In addition to this, Paul talks about himself and other Christians actually putting this command into practice in Colossians i.9. He writes to the Colossians that, "[they] have not ceased to pray for [them]." We, therefore, have to deduce that it is His will for you and I not only to pray, but to pray without ceasing. This also applies to the other two commands. God doesn't just want His children to rejoice, but to do so always, and He doesn't only ask us to give thanks in some situations, but in all of them. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

When we allow ourselves to make excuses or to question if God really meant what is said in His word we are allowing ourselves to be misled by a deception that is as old as sin itself! Do you recall the first words that the devil said to Eve on that fateful day in the Garden of Eden? He asked,

"Did God really say...?" His intention was to alter the meaning of God's words by just a little bit. That little change was all that was necessary because Eve wanted to believe the moderated command. In the same way that it is for us, it was easier for her to compromise than to hold fast to God's word. Eve's answer should have been something more like:

"Yes actually, He did say that!" 

That is what our response to the temptation to change God's words should be as well. The temptation to compromise on these particular commands comes from the belief that they are impossible to fulfil. Knowing that God does wants us to do them doesn't make them any less impossible. Or does it? Jesus said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew xix. 26) So here is where faith comes in. We are not commissioned to believe in ourselves. For, as we have feared and as Jesus told us Himself, with man this is impossible. However, whenever God Almighty is involved we should expect to find that very important conjunction. The one that tells us He isn't done; that God hasn't left us with three impossible commands. The 'very important conjunction' is but. "With man it is impossible but with God all things are possible." Did you know that the same statement is hidden in 1 Thessalonians v. 16 - 18? At the end of verse eighteen Paul does not say, "this is the will of God for you." Instead he wrote, "this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." That is a very important difference. With God all things are indeed possible and in Christ Jesus we can actually rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in every situation!

So here's the challenge, what if, instead of making excuses when we get to verses like 1 Thessalonians v.16 - 18, we tried to apply God's commands in faith? What would the result of that be? Throughout history we find many examples of men and woman who did just that. Through faith they accomplished the tasks that we generally write off as impossible and in so doing they changed the lives of those around them and brought glory to their King. 


"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." (Hebrews xi. 33-34) 


Whenever men and woman have refused to compromise, question God's word, or make excuses the result has always proved to be incredible. I want to share one of those stories with you today. One that pertains to one of the specific commands we have been discussing. This story can be found in the testimony of a man who has come to be called Watchman Nee.

*Nee Shu-tsu was a third generation Christian. His mother, much like Hannah the mother of the prophet Samuel, had prayed to the Lord to give her a son. She had promised God that, if He gave her a son, she would present the child to Him. Through his childhood, Nee's parents constantly reminded him of this dedication but it was not until he was seventeen that Nee made the decision to give himself to the Lord.

“From the evening I was saved, I began to live a new life, for the life of the eternal God had entered into me.” Nee later recorded. It was not long after this transformation that our story takes place, for the new Christian immediately started to put right the matters of his soul.  

"I also made a list of seventy friends to pray for daily. Some days I would pray for them every hour, even in class. When the opportunity came, I would try to persuade them to believe in the Lord Jesus... With the Lord's grace I continued to pray daily, and after several months all but one of the seventy persons were saved." — Watchman Nee, Watchman Nee's Testimony.

Through one man's diligence to pray, sixty-nine souls were eternally rescued through the course of a single year! Nee prayed for his friends every day and sometimes every hour, and even that regiment doesn't meet the fullness of the command to pray without ceasing. Yet look at how much his obedience accomplished! In his words, "with the Lord's grace", Nee reminds us again of the crucial factor that made this work possible. We cannot forget that the power to fulfil these and all such commands comes from God and yet we are told that it is His will for us to do them in Christ Jesus. Therefore, instead of being discouraged by the things we deem to be impossible let’s find in them opportunities to see our God at work!

In Christ

quiana

*Facts on the life of Watchman Nee were taken from a website dedicated to his memory.

John Bunyan's Second Wife - The Motives of a Servant's Heart

Elizabeth looked up from her sewing just in time to see John poke his stick into the open fire. She jumped up and grabbed the transgressor's hand.

"That's it! If I catch you playing in the fire once more I'll have to spank you!"

 John looked up at her with wide eyes; it was the first time that he had heard her yell. Thomas started crying in his crib; apparently, she had frightened him too. 

Elizabeth sighed and knelt down beside the two and a half year old. "I'm sorry for loosing my temper, John. You must listen to what I tell you the first time I say it. Do you understand?" 

The little boy nodded and reached to wipe a tear from her eye. She hadn't even realised that she was crying.

"I'm sorry, Mama."

She smiled, how sweet it was to hear him call her that. The thought was accompanied by a sad sigh. She would never get to hear her baby say it. 

In a moment, she forced the thought from her mind. These are my babies! She reminded herself as she picked up little Tom. 

With the toddler balanced on her hip. she began to gather the dishes that were scattered about the kitchen. As she placed them in the sink, she looked out the window and saw the two girls marching up the path that led towards the house. 

She couldn't help but laugh at Sarah. The four year old was a willing guide but not a very patient one - poor Mary had to hurry to keep up with her. 

"Miss Elizabeth! Miss Elizabeth!" 

Whenever Sarah was excited she called her 'Miss Elizabeth' instead of 'Mama'. It was an innocent mistake and Elizabeth didn’t see a need to correct it; feeling sure that time would cure the habit.

"What is it?"

"Daddy's writing a story! It's about a Pi-g-lum!"

"A what?"

"It's a pilgrim, Sarah." Mary corrected. "A pilgrim is a Christian who is travelling. Isn't he, Mama?"

"Yes, dear, I suppose that's right."

"Daddy's going to write about giants, a dragon, a beautiful city, and...and..." 

Elizabeth laughed. "Slow down, Love! You can tell me all about it after you've had your dinner." 

The girls sat down at the table and Elizabeth began to dish soup from the pot that she had been keeping warm on the stove.

   Wiping sweat from her forehead, she picked up the bowls. The room seemed to sway back and forth.

 Elizabeth reached for the counter and spilled one of the bowls in the process. Really, Elizabeth! She thought, Mary gets around better than you! She leaned against the cupboards until the dizziness cleared. 

In few moments, her head had cleared enough for her to refill Sarah's dish. 

As the girls were eating she knelt to wash the floor, continuing to scold herself as she did. We can hardly afford to waste precious food. 

This was not the first meal she had spilled. The baby had been lost almost four months ago and still she felt weak. She was beginning to wonder if she should go to see the doctor, but they couldn't afford that either.

"Thank you both for walking that food down to the jail." Elizabeth said as she got up from the floor.

“You’re welcome.” 

Mary's brow furrowed. "Who thanks you, Mama?"

"What do you mean?"

"You thank us for the good things we do and we thank God for the good things He does, but who thanks you when you do something good?"

Elizabeth laughed and kissed the girl's head. Apparently Mary had taken notice of her mood too. 

God loves a cheerful giver. The verse came to her recollection - not in the chiding tones with which she corrected herself but in the soft voice of conviction. 

"No one does right now, dear Mary, but I don't need any thanks. One day, our heavenly Father will reward us all." Her words came as a lesson to her own ears and she determined that she would not entertain self pity any longer. 

  Later that evening, Elizabeth gathered all the children around the table to pray. Thomas sat on her lap, playing with the long brown strands of her hair. John squinted through half shut eyes, trying to make sure that everyone else was really praying. The girls bowed their heads dutifully, each holding one of Elizabeth's hands. 

The young mother prayed aloud. She thanked God that Baby Tom was learning to walk; that John had shared his toys with his little brother; that Sarah was such a good helper; that Mary was so thoughtful and patient with them all; that their Daddy was able to write books, preaching the gospel even in prison. 

When she finished, Mary squeezed her hand.

"You didn't thank God for the things that He strengthened you to do. First Thessalonians five says in everything we are to give thanks." 

Elizabeth looked at Mary in amazement. The nine year old was right. God had remained faithful even in her weakness and while she could forgo thanks, she must not forget to thank Him. To thank Him for all that He strengthened her to do.

Introducing the Bunyans

  In the mid- 1600s a man named John Bunyan lived in the town of Elstow, in Bedfordshire, England. His profession was that of a tinker, but in addition to this he frequently served as a Puritan lay preacher. It was the latter work which resulted in his spending twelve long years in prison. There he wrote several books including the famous Christian allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress.

  Elizabeth became Bunyan's second wife when she was just eighteen years old. Taking on not only the role of wife but also that of mother to four young children – Mary, Sarah, John, and Thomas. 

John was arrested for preaching without a licence just a year after they were married and at that time Elizabeth was several months pregnant with her first child. She had heard many rumours of the terrible things inflicted upon the non- conformists who had fallen into the hand of the authorities. Thus, when news of her husband’s arrest reached her she became so distressed that she went into premature labour. Eight days later, she delivered a small child who soon passed away. 

While still grieving her loss, Elizabeth had to set out for London to appeal John’s conviction. A simple, country girl, she bravely petitioned at the House of Lords. But after several unsuccessful appeals she was forced to give up and returned to Elstow. 

Arriving home, Elizabeth could easily have settled into grief and self pity - her situation surely warranted it. Instead, Elizabeth threw herself wholeheartedly into the task of caring for the house, the children and even John himself who they regularly visited and brought meals to at the nearby prison. 

As Mary said, the job was a thankless one, but Elizabeth strove to do her best at it. In the House of Lords and in the little cottage alike, Elizabeth Bunyan served her family well. 

Serving Well

Very few people know how to serve well. Most of us assume that serving well is the same as serving willingly. God does indeed tell us that He loves a joyful giver (2 Corinthians ix. 7) but serving well goes beyond serving willingly. 

In the familiar story of Martha and Mary (Luke x. 38 -42), Martha made herself busy about serving Jesus and yet it was not Martha whom Jesus said ‘[had] chosen the better part’. In all her hard work and diligence, Martha had missed something and so have many of us. 

To discover what it is to serve well we need to find out what it was that Martha was lacking, what it was that Elizabeth Bunyan was constantly striving to practice.

  The difference between serving willingly and serving well comes down to motive. Usually we serve others in order to get something for ourselves. We serve to be seen or to gain the praise of others. We serve because it makes us feel good about ourselves. Or we do it in an attempt to earn God's approval. 

These motivations are all selfish. While we continue to employ them, we will never be able to serve well. 

God desires us to be moved by something altogether different. He has given us two good reasons which can motivate us to serve in the place of selfish ones.   


Reason 1 - He First Served Us. 

"You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you." (John xiii. 13-15)

Earlier in John xiii. we find that Peter didn’t want Jesus to wash his feet at first. The reason for this being that it was the job of those who were beneath to serve those of higher rank. Thus, it was definitely not the job of his Lord to wash his feet! Jesus said to him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." 

Peter was reasoning from the world's system - the lowly serve those who are higher in position- but Jesus wanted to show us a different pattern. In washing the disciple’s feet, He demonstrated that those who have authority should willingly serve those they are over*. This is the very message of the gospel itself - God Most High came willingly to serve and to save those who were beneath Him. The command to do as He had done was to all who would call Him Lord and Teacher.

(*You can read more on this topic in The Heavenly Order)


Reason 2 - Out of Love

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John xiii. 35)

 The love we are to have for one another comes as a result of the love that Christ had for us. 

Love which is not merely an emotion but a choice. A choice that requires action. 

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." (1 John iii.16-18)

We are called to be generous, to make disciples, to fight injustice and to care for one another. All of these could be categorised as demonstrations of love. 

Cultivating a Servant's Heart 

  The motive of the true servant’s heart is therefore twofold. It comes firstly from God's love for us, which showed us what true service really was, and secondly from the love He gives us for one another.

 Service should not come out of selfish ambition or a desire to be rewarded. 

To begin to serve well we must first forget ourselves. God Himself will reward any good deeds we do (Matthew vi. 1-5) but we should remember that it is He, and not us, who is truly worthy of a reward.

 “Which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So, likewise, you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” (Matthew xvii. 7-10)

 The example of Jesus causes every excuse we have to not serve well to fall away. For when service comes as an inconvenience, we can ask ourselves if it was convenient for the Son of God to leave heaven to rescue us. When we receive no thanks for what we do, we take it as a fresh reminder to thank Him for all that He did for us. If a task brings us no praise, we can rejoice in the surety that God will be glorified by it all the more. When those we serve are not worthy of our efforts, we remember that we were not worthy of His. In this way the servant’s heart will ever be motivated - motivated by Love Himself.

In Christ

Quiana