Today we finish our series on joy and examine why you so often distrust the joy that is in your heart. (You can catch up on this series by first reading the past entries at the site where they are posted.) The main reason you are afraid is that you have been taught and conditioned to respond that way.
BAD ADVICE
First, someone has probably quoted for you the words found in Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Of course, these same people never quote what is found lates in Jeremiah 24:7: "I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart."
I know that my heart will always have a tendency to wander, and I need to be mindful of that, but I also know that my heart is not what it used to be before I met the Lord - or how it was when I first started following Him. I don't have to distrust everything that emanates from my heart because God has given and is giving me a new heart. He is doing the same for you, so your joy is not necessarily a detour on the road of life, but can serve as a directional marker.
The joy that you have in your heart is not necessarily there to trick or mislead you. There is a good chance that joy has been cleansed and purified by the new heart work the Spirit is doing in you.
MORE BAD ADVICE
Second, someone has probably tried to talk you into or out of something your heart did not or did truly feel. Those people ignored - and you did, too, if you followed their advice - the words found in Proverbs 14:10: "Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy." You know when you are exhilarated and when you are bored, even if you do something well. No one should be able to convince you otherwise, yet you perhaps allow it to happen from time to time when you listen to bad advice that tells you not to trust your heart.
Finally, someone will tell you that your joy is an emotion and you should not follow the Lord through your emotions. Really? Is God's will for you to eliminate or to redeem your emotions? Just because emotions can mislead, does it mean that they always mislead? Why give your mind supremacy over finding God's will for you? Is not your mind or logic as susceptible to mislead as your emotions through 'bad thinking'? And what about the command found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."?
SOME GOOD ADVICE
God did not tell Israel to love Him only with their minds, but also with their hearts, emotions and physical strength. God's purpose is not to eliminate the role of your emotions (including joy) in your life but to redeem them from their destructive potential. If you eradicate the role of joy and your other God-given emotions in your life, you will never find purpose, for purpose is not a head thing but a heart thing.
The objective of this series was and is to help you identify your joys in life and then not to trivialize or ignore them. You need to examine them under a microscope, do a biopsy on them and dissect them for clues to your purpose. No matter how juvenile or simplistic your joyful activities may seem, you need to embrace and study them. While doing that, you need to cry out in your heart for the insight and wisdom those joys can give that may lead you to purpose.
The next time someone tries to steal or minimize your joy, don't let them do it! Just hold it close and allow God to use it to lead and guide you into His will for your life, a will that not only makes sense but also brings abundant joy. Have a joy-filled, purposeful week!
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ANOTHER KENYA MATCHING GRANT: Yes, we just finished one matching grant and my friend John in Dallas has issued another one. He will match every dollar that comes in up to $500 by June 1. That means you can once again double your gift when you give to help Kenyan orphans and widows. My latest update from Kenya is posted here.
Keep in mind that it's always possible to give either through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you for your help and thank you for helping us reach the last matching $500 gift. God is good and you are kind to respond to the needs of the work in Kenya.
ANOTHER SEMINAR IN PITTSBURGH: I am hosting another purpose seminar on Saturday, June 7 at Allegheny Center Alliance Church in Pittsburgh from noon to 4:30 PM. As usual, the seminar is free but you need to register by writing to let me know you are coming.
NEW BOOK: My latest daily devotional, What Would Jesus Ask You Today? is now available to order online in either a paper or ebook format. I hope you enjoy this latest publishing endeavor.
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