Where does your joy come? Ok, now that you've given yourself the Christian answer of "my joy is in Christ," I want you to think about it. Why do you have joy in Christ? I would guess that about 100% of you (and that might be an understatement), when you really think about it, will realize that your joy comes from your circumstances, or "more Christianly," from what God had blessed you with. I know that is what it was like for me. I had joy in what God had given me, but when God took that, where was I left? So now that you're spiritual mind is running at about 3000 RPM, we can move on.
True joy, true fulfillment and contentment, comes from the development of Christ-like character in us. Remember the beatitudes; remember how you can re-phrase them to "happy are the meek, poor in spirit, etc?" Well, who was the gold standard for all those things -- Jesus was. So, if you are happy in your circumstance, or in what God has blessed you with, good for you. But ask yourself the question. If God all of a sudden took these things away, would I still be happy? I'm afraid the scary answer for most of us would be "no" because we think that the "joy of Christ" is those things. Focus on letting God develop what He wants within you and let true joy, contentment, and fulfillment flow from that. Can't say I've experienced it yet, but God is working it in me.
Trusting in His love and goodness,
Alex
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