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I've got the joy down in my heart

Recently my small group has been reading a book called Jesus> Religion. It's taught me a lot. Definitely recommend it. This last chapter Jefferson Bethke said something that really stuck with me. He said thankfulness is the quickest path to joy. Recently, a few of us have been putting it to use. Whenever we are having a difficult time, we stop and thank God for our blessings. The point I have found in this, is it puts things back into perspective. C.S. Lewis said "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." Same concept here. By our blessings, we can see everything else the way it should be seen.
So what is joy? I love the definition that was taken from the way Paul uses it.  Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as He causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world. Christian joy is not of this world. It is stored in Heaven. No one can steal that joy. We ourselves have to trade it. I can trade my joy for sin. When I do that, it causes my focus to shift back to this world.
Psalm 51:12 says 'Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.'
No one wants to trade their joy for sin. We are weak. We cannot do anything apart from God, even be joyful.
I'm not sure if you've ever seen the movie Risen. It's amazing. In it, the disciple Bartholomew is being told that he's going to be crucified if he doesn't give up the whereabouts of Jesus' body or the other followers. He has already laid eyes on the risen Jesus. What the soldier is saying, isn't even penetrating. What Bartholomew has on his face is pure joy.
The reason for our joy is Jesus Christ. Pat Conroy said "I could not quiet that pearly ache in my heart that I diagnosed as the cry of home." Strange as it sounds, our joy is in that ache. It's in the promise that someday that ache will be relieved. That we will finally be with our Father, where our joy will be full. On that day we will rejoice with all of Heaven.

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