| Yesterday's Bible Study |
In this verse from Jesus's Farewell Discourse, His final message before the crucifixion, He tells His disciples that they can ask for joy in His name and they will receive it. This teaches us a lot about the heart of the Lord and His willingness to bless us when we ask Him. He does not give only joy, but joy in full. And this same joy is available to us today!
Remaining joyful isn't always easy, however, because the world can be a tough place. We struggle sometimes to keep our focus on Christ, and suffering and pain in our lives can weigh us down, sapping the joy within our hearts. However, Jesus makes it possible for Christians to walk in joy in every circumstance and through every trial. Having joy can be a powerful witness to the power of Christ in our lives. If we are able to be strong in Him during hard times, we can show other people the power of Jesus to transform our perspectives.
|
|
|
Notice that we are not simply called to have joy through our own willpower--we are expected to ask for joy. As Jesus says in today's verse, He will answer our prayers for joy; we need only to ask Him. He is eager to help us when we call out to Him.
At the same time, we have the responsibility to recognize when we need help and ask the Lord to help us. He wants us to play a role in receiving His joy by taking the initiative to ask for it.
Why would the Lord want us to ask Him for help? Because, when we ask Him to help us, we are actively involving Him in our sanctification process. We are reminding ourselves that we need Him on an everyday, moment-by-moment level. If the Lord simply supplied what we needed without our asking, we could forget that it is actually Him helping us. Instead, when we find ourselves in need of joy, and we ask God for it and receive it in full, as this verse promises, we will find ourselves developing a sweet relationship with the Lord, calling out to Him and resting in Him each and every day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
