ARE YOU DAMMING UP YOUR OWN JOY?
There are two versions of me. There is the version of me that operates in the power of the Holy Spirit and there is the version of me that operates in the power of my own flesh. They are two very different versions.
The version of me that is operating in the power of my own flesh gets offended way too easily. It doesn't like to be told what to do. It doesn't like to be corrected. Something inside of that version of me bucks up when somebody doesn’t agree with what I say. Truthfully, that version of me wants everyone I am around to be enthralled with everything I say and delighted in everything I do.
Well, duh! No wonder my life is an accident waiting to happen and a good mood waiting to change. When I have a moment of honesty, it is plain to see that when I operate in the power of my own flesh the last thing I look for is the opportunity to serve others or the privilege to glorify Jesus. The painful truth is that what my flesh really wants is to have everything in my world revolve around me.
When I have not died to my own flesh it is no wonder I am consistently irritated and offended. Some have said that "J-O-Y" is an acronym. It stands for Jesus, Others, You. And it HAS to be in that order. Me Me Me has never spelled or resulted in joy. It only results in resentment and misery.
There is good news. The good news is that when I die to the right to myself something amazing happens. When I stop fixating on me, suddenly everything I do becomes an opportunity to experience joy. Doing something I don’t naturally want to do turns into a chance to put Jesus first and to serve others. And when that happens it is like a faucet is turned on. All of the sudden, that joy from deep within starts to flow. My selfishness has literally dammed up the inner flow of joy. As contradictory as it sounds, dying to myself is the only thing that breaks the dam and creates an unstoppable flood of joy.
Dying, and only dying, is true living! If this sounds like foolishness to you it is because you have never done it. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive. It is more thrilling to serve than to be served. This makes no sense apart from the miraculous work of God, through the Holy Spirit, within your own spirit.
Life is only found by dying. Joy only comes from giving. And you only become the real you that God created for you to become when you give up your right to yourself. It doesn’t matter if it makes sense. Do it. The proof will be in the joy!
