What Gave Paul Great Joy?
"Your love has given me great joy and encouragement." (Philemon 7)
So what is great joy? Paul demonstrates great joy in his life. And so can we.
Great joy is the difference between knowing that things are going to be okay, as we do know because of Christ, and knowing that they are going to be marvelous!
Our tears are not just dried, we have reason to smile and laugh!
Hard times will still come, as they did for Jesus and His disciples, but great joy means that not only will He see us through those times, but it will turn out that all things have purpose and meaning and what we are going through will enhance our lives and bring us more joy!
Everything will end very well.
Enduring life's challenges will make us strong. But more than that, they will make us more like Jesus!
We may want to be made better for this life, but He wants to make us completely new, perfect and ready for His eternal kingdom.
That really give us great joy.
Let's not be satisfied with joy today -- let's reach for that great joy!
But what exactly does Paul say gave him great joy in this passage? The love of his friends!
So we can spread great joy through our love for each other. We can participate in giving it to others. Great joy is best shared.
So that's our goal for this new year - showing great love for each other which will result in their having great joy!
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