JOY
Jesus, Others, You.
Philippians 2: 1-4, Paul has written these words.” Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, , united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interested of others.”
I want to introduce an idea to you that I heard and saw Andy Stanley recently talk about and share with us from a message we watched on tv.
The image here is to imagine a box marked DREAMS, HOPES and DESIRES. In this box are all of what you have in your mind for the future of your life, shared with others. It may include all types of things including your plans for home, work, family, personal growth, and the list can go on for each one of us. These dreams, hopes, and desires, become our expectation for the future of our lives. It boils down to what we expect our life to look like in the near and distant future.
This is now where the “tires hit the pavement”. Each of you brings to this moment a box full of dreams, hopes and desires, or expectations. You may think that you can each hold onto your box full of expectations and they will continue to be carried out just as you had individually planned.
I think it is time, right now, to dump each of your boxes out onto the table in full view of others, see what matches up, and begin to use only those as your expectations. Those goals or expectations will be easily met because they are the same. But the rest of them are the potholes or curves in the road that must be missed or negotiated around. The way you do that is answered in the scripture I just read.
Each of you must put the needs of others ahead of your own selfish interests or expectations. I will tell you that this is not easy to do, and there are many times that I have not followed this instruction. Maybe the WWJD would fit in here. Maybe analyzing the needs (expectations) others will help. Or maybe just conceding without anger or selfish desire or upset. Maybe, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
Maybe, as Jesus said in John 13:35, “Love one another as I have loved you”. He also reminded us to always be servants to others, again putting their needs ahead of our own, but that has to been done in love, not begrudgingly.
As you each do all this in love, you will develop a loving, caring, giving relationship that will help to endure all the potholes and curves and mistakes that will occur.
Combine your boxes of dreams, hopes, and desires into common expectations that will guide you on your path. Remember what I said at the beginning ? Jesus, then others, then you. It is a perfect plan for us un-perfect people.
I want to close with this from Isiah 40:31 because it is one of my personal favorites. “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get weary, they will walk and not faint.” So teach me Lord to wait.
Joy is yours as you wait on the Lord. Allow Him to guide your life from this day forward.
IN THE POWER OF HIS LOVE,
Bob
