Full Joy
ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen
indeed! Alleluia!
When our Lord says, “Ask,”
He encourages, invites, and even commands you to pray. When He says, “You shall receive,” He assures you that
your prayer will not be futile. More than that, He gives His Word that what you
pray will be heard and acted upon. And when the Lord promises that “your joy may be full,” He tells you the
benefit of prayer. That benefit is firmly grounded, not in what you say or do,
but in what our Lord pledges to give: a joy and delight that not only warms the
heart but also fills your entire being. For the joy our Lord promises is not
the flesh-pleasing joy centered on material things, or the promises of the
world, or whatever else you are convinced will satisfy you and make your life
better. After all, “those who live according to the flesh set
their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the
Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”
That is why He says,
“Set your mind, then, on things above, not on things on the earth.” The
benefits our Lord gives are not earthly but heavenly. And the joy He promises
is not the self-gratifying joy that so quickly fades. The joy our Lord promises
is not only more enduring, but fuller, richer, more abundant. None of this
world’s joy can hold a candle to it. And all other joy is nothing compared to
the heavenly joy our Lord promises and gives.
It’s not because you can’t have it or experience it until you get to
heaven, but because this joy is located in and is given by Him who came down
from heaven. The Lord is our Joy. He allows us to stand unafraid before God and
the world. This is the joy He promises to give. And this is the joy He desires
us to ask for. “Ask,” He implores us.
“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy
may be full.”
To ask Him anything—even for the joy He is—is to pray. Yet
most people believe that prayer, like faith, is the heartfelt desire for
something. Most believe that to pray is to align your thoughts with God. And
most people believe that to pray means that you are immovably sure of whatever
you feel will improve your life and make it more livable. What you pray for becomes
more important than to Whom you address your prayers. And what you pray for
cannot be questioned, since you know what you need.
But our Lord Jesus knows what we need so much better than we
do. He’s not a genie in a bottle; He did not come down from heaven to grant your
wishes. He did not sacrifice His life to make sure you have the right stuff, to
make your aches and pains go away, or to smooth over your rough spots. He came to
reconcile you with God. He came to deliver you from eternal death to the life
of the Father’s heaven. He came to be your life, so that you never need to fear
anything—even death, the devil, or hell—for He has overcome all evil by His death
and resurrection. He has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. And He
gives to you all that you need to support your body and life. And that should
be your prayer.
So what do we say? We say what our Lord says. And what do we
pray for? We request whatever Our Lord promises. And what do we ask? We pray that
our joy may be full; we pray that our Father through Jesus would create in us a
clean heart, and renew a right spirit within us; we beg Him to cast us not away
from His presence, and take not His Holy Spirit from us; and we plead with Him
to restore unto us the joy of our salvation, and uphold us with His generous
Spirit. For when we pray in that way, we have said what He says; we have asked
for what He delights to give. And then our joy will be full. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen
indeed! Alleluia! In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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