Faith Filled Family Magazine November 2016 | Page 77

ble. Later in his second letter to
the Corinthians he describes his
life as a disciple for Christ Jesus:
Three times I have been beaten
with rods; once I was stoned.
Three times I have been shipwrecked; a night and a day I
have been adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from
rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger
from Gentiles, danger in the city,
danger in the wilderness, danger
at sea, danger from false brethren; in toil and hardship, through
many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without
food, in cold and exposure. And,
apart from other things, there is
the daily pressure upon me of
my anxiety for all the churches.
(11:25-28)
Not to mention numerous times
he was imprisoned in chains
for his beliefs, and eventually
executed. The man obviously
faced trouble head on numerous
times. Yet, despite all that hap-

pened to him, he never lost the
sense of joy in his journey. Over
and over again in his letters to
the churches he helped to plant,
he wrote about joy. What was
Paul’s secret? Simply, He knew
Jesus— not just about Him, but
intimately experienced His presence. Paul’s deep faith told him
that no matter what, Christ would
always love him and never leave
him. The all-knowing God wanted above all else an intimate relationship with him.
But, can we today, with all the
strife, hustle and anxiety our
modern lives produce, retain the
same joy?
The answer is a resounding
YES! Just as was the case with
Paul, Peter and the countless
number of Christians who have
lived and died over the last two
thousand plus years, we, too can
have joy that knows no bounds.
It is attainable because joy is not
based on our human thoughts,

emotions or desires. It is grounded in Christ, and monitored by
the Holy Spirit living inside our
souls. Joy is as constant and
consistent as our Lord’s love,
because our joy is the response
to that love.

“But, can we
today, with
all the strife,
hustle and
anxiety our
modern lives
produce,
retain the
same joy?
The answer
is a resounding YES! “
Thermostats can be programmed
to keep a room’s temperature
the same all the time. The air
conditioning or heating will kick
in and turn off as needed to
maintain the same level of comfort no matter if it is 100 degrees
or 10 below zero outside. That