There is nothing on earth that truly compares to Heaven; yet we CAN experience a taste of HEAVEN on earth by—living in the PRESENCE—of the GOD of HEAVEN. Every joy we experience on earth is a wispy vapor when compared to the deep and abiding joy and peace of living close to God. Think of how quickly even your greatest joy fades. Perhaps it was—your wedding, the birth of a child or grandchild, your graduation, opening your own business, finding the love of your life, or moving into your dream home. How long did that fully charged joy last before—your life began to fade back to being humdrum?
But did you know—you CAN make your joy last?
Let me give you an example from my own life. In 2012 I built the home of my dreams—a warm and welcoming Tuscany-Italian style home with an amazing view of two river valleys. And—the best feature—many windows! When I moved in, it felt like I owned a piece of Heaven. I’d open my eyes in the morning and from my bed I savored a delightful view of the entire valley. In the great room (living room, dining room, and kitchen) the light beams from both the sunrise and sunset would shine through the windows and cast their warming rays across the entire width of the living space. In the winter, a large fireplace crackled invitingly as the cold winter snow fell. I loved curling up on my couch with a mug of hot tea as a storm blew up the valley and crashing thunder and flashing lightning pierced the night, illuminating the panoramic view. The kitchen has tall-people counters and lots of joyful memories have been shared cooking with family and friends. (My short friends use a stool.😏) The closets are generous so I don’t have to be a Sumo wrestler to extricate my favorite shirt. I could go on and on…but for now let me just say…it’s absolutely everything I ever wanted in a home.
But how long do you think it took for my awe and appreciation to diminish?
Not very long! Unfortunately, life-stresses quickly drown out the joy of even our most well thought-out blessings. It doesn’t matter what it is—a home, a spouse, a child—the joy quickly fades…
…unless we understand WHY blessings give us joy.
There IS a way to hold onto the joy of our physical blessings! However, it has very little to do with the blessings themselves.
We experience prolonged joy from our earthly blessings when our greatest delight is in the GIVER of the blessings.
How do we make God our greatest delight? He must become the center of our life. Why would we want GOD to be our center? One word: LOVE. We desire to do life HIS way—because we love Him more than we love anything. This is called living life in God’s will. It is wonderful beyond words. Living in God’s will we don’t have to worry, plot, stress, or debase ourselves in order to find joy and peace. Lots of folks ask me: “How do you KNOW God’s will?” Well, 95% of it is in His Word. The other 5% that we THINK is the “big” stuff (what we call major life decisions) is revealed as we draw near to God by doing the 95% in His Word. The BIG part of doing God’s will is: Loving Him with all our heart, mind and soul and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. Heart-obedience grows the most important relationship of our life—the one with God.
When we have a lively and passionate relationship with God and an active heart-knowledge of His Word, we know REAL joy—no matter what our circumstances!
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts…You will go out in JOY and be led forth in PEACE; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”
Isaiah 55:9,12
GOD is the source of all knowledge, love, strength, wisdom and everything good—WE are NOT. Neither is our stuff or our people! When we get this truth and learn to be centered in God, then His joy and peace carry us through every trial, trouble, and heartache. Without that horrible baggage, we are free to live in a deep and lasting appreciation for our blessings.
So, about my house. Well, the truth is that when I’m close to God, I enjoy the blessing of my house today—just as much as the day I moved in. I feel His presence in every room. It is my place of peace and my refuge from the world. My guests tell me that my home feels like a peaceful sanctuary. That’s because…God lives here.
In God’s presence, we live in JOY and are led by PEACE. (ISAIAH 55:12)
To learn more about Kimberly Faith and the mission of Faith Strong, click HERE.
Out Now – Essential Faith, Volume II. Find it on Amazon by clicking HERE.
