In Thy Presence, Lord

Thankfulness is the cause of true contentment and true joy.  However, we all have come up with so many excuses and reasons for why we shouldn’t be content, why we don't feel happy, why we are justified in not being joyful, why life is just too hard and too unfair for us to ever be thankful, as if our feelings are a justified explanation.  If we could simply get the focus off of ourselves and onto God and others we might be able to see the reasons why we have so much to be happy, joyful, thankful and grateful for, even when we don’t FEEL it inside. 

We say; “You just don’t understand, see, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I didn’t have my coffee, my kids are out of control, my house is a wreck, I ran out of gas on my way to work, my job is incredibly stressful, I couldn’t afford to eat at a five star restaurant so I had to settle for McDonalds, I spilled ketchup on my white shirt, etc…etc…”   Such a hard life we lead.  Jesus probably wouldn’t know anything about such trials. After all, He only died on a cross.  He probably doesn’t know what it’s like to deny himself, his flesh and his needs, to act contrary to His feelings.  Life must have been so easy for him compared to all that we have to go through.

  

Alright, when we think of it in that light our petty concerns do sound rather foolish, don’t they?  But yet we continue to cater to them and use them as a crutch and excuse for why we should be allowed to have a pity party. We know nothing about what it is truly like to die to ourselves and suffer all that Christ had to suffer.  He not only was persecuted in many ways, was falsely accused and died on a cross; he had to suffer the wrath and judgment of God, the punishment for sins which He never committed.  He was innocent, yet He chose to pay the debt we owed so that we could live in freedom from the bondage of sin. Yet we continually choose to bind ourselves with our selfish desires and self focused hearts.

Jesus says in Matthew 16:24-27; “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”

And in Romans 13:14; “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” 

God knows our needs. He understands and cares for our well being.  There is no need for us to worry about anything because God is watching out for us and will supply all our needs.

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." -Matthew 6:25-34

We must die completely to our flesh, die to ourselves, and surrender all to Jesus Christ.  We must pick up our cross daily and follow in his footsteps no matter how we feel.  We are so blessed that we are not alone in this journey.  We serve a merciful, loving God who has been in the same place we are in and He understands what we are going through.  He will sustain us, strengthen us, give us a peace that passes our understanding and a joy and contentment in knowing that He will never leave us or forsake us.  Even when the road is rough, we must choose to press on to finish the race.  Once we begin to proceed and act contrary to our feelings, choosing to be joyful, choosing a heart of praise and thanksgiving, we will soon find that our feelings change as our heart and focus changes.

I think Ann Voskamp expresses it perfectly in her book “A Thousand Gifts”:

“While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving.  True saints know that the place where all joy comes from is far deeper than that of feelings; joy comes from the very presence of God.” 

“In Thy presence, Lord, is fullness of joy.”  -Psalm 16:11

Do you feel full of joy?  If not, perhaps you have not been spending enough time in the presence of the Lord.

“The joy of the Lord is my strength.”  -Nehemiah 8:10

Are you running out of strength?  Are you feeling weak and disheartened?  Maybe you are not availing yourself of God’s supernatural joy and strength which can carry us through even when our strength is gone. His strength is perfect.

So friends, lay your cares at the foot of Christ, let go of your feelings and choose today to;

“Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In EVERYTHING give thanks!”