For the joy that is set before me...

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross." Hebrews 12:2

I was listening to an interview on NPR of 34-year-old Samantha Davies who was completing a long and arduous race around the world (the Vendee Globe) aboard her sailboat, the Roxy. It's a notoriously treacherous sail, from the south of France, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, and all the way back. The winning boat had already reached the finish line, but she was expressing extreme satisfaction at the prospect of finishing soon herself. She described some of the hardships she had endured over the course of the race; high seas, storms, equipment malfunctions, cold, wet, exhaustion and flying fish. The interviewer asked her what she was most looking forward to upon finishing the race. "A cold beer and a hot shower," she answered.

In Hebrews 12:2, Paul talks about Jesus facing the most difficult situation in which a person could find themselves - crucifixion. Yet He endured it for the 'joy that was set before him'.

That, of course, is the extreme. But all of us have had to endure hardship, difficulty, perils. Yet, if you think about it, there is always joy of one sort or another ahead. The ultimate joy, obviously, is meeting the Father face-to-face. But there are other joys that are given to us - simple joys - temporal joys. I can relate to Samantha Davies. I'm sure she meant that statement. I don't for a minute believe that she was just being glib.

I was working at an outside job site recently. It was cold. It was wet. I was working in a strange mixture of ice and mud. I was miserable. All things being equal, I would have chosen to be elsewhere. But I believe that whatever we are called to do, do it as unto the Lord without griping or complaining. This is the work that God called me to and obedience IS greater than sacrifice. As I worked away, cold and wet, I thought about Hebrews 12. Oh, sure...I could look forward to the invoice that I would send, the check I would receive, the bills I would pay. But, what really helped me to get to the end of that job was knowing that, in just a few hours, I would be home, in a warm house, with a hot meal, a hot shower and a comfortable chair. Simple joys.

Each of us goes through similar times...different, yet, the same. Sometimes, the joy is imminent. Sometimes not. But there is always a joy that is set before us. Think about it. Even as one lay on his death bed, there is a joy ahead. Unless...that one has no hope. For having no hope is 'as though a man escapes the jaws of a lion only to run into the arms of a bear or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him!' (Amos 5:19) And our hope is in Him (Psalm 39:7).

No matter where you are and no matter what you may be struggling with, as long as there is hope, there is joy before you. Whether it is release from prison, recovery from surgery or just a hot shower at the end of a long, cold day...as long as there is hope, there is a joy set before you.

What's Puzzling You?

"But He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?' Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm." Matthew 8:26

Not being a fisherman or a sailor, winds or waves are probably not going to be my major source of fears. Or are they? In the same way that motes and beams (Mt. 7:4) are figurative elements by which we learn a spiritual truth, 'winds and the sea' can also be figurative elements. My winds and waves may not be literal, but they may come in the form of illness, financial woes, relationships, temptations, addictions, behaviors, appetites, etc. Jesus didn't calm the winds and the waves. He REBUKED THEM, and then 'there was a great calm'. In Him, we have the ability to rebuke our own winds and waves. Didn't he say, "I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do..."? (John 14:12). As Christians we know that the things that trouble, confound and confuse us are not rooted in the temporal. They are rooted in the spiritual. And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God. (2 Corinthians 10:4). I don't think I have ever quoted Mick Jagger in a contemplation of spiritual truth, but in "Sympathy For the Devil", he penned a great truth: "...hope you guessed my name (Lucifer)...whats confusing (puzzling) you is just the nature of my game." The promise that I am standing on today is, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4). Boldly rebuke your winds and waves today and experience a great calm.