“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2
“For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” – 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
Our 2012 theme, “The Joy Set Before Christ”, speaks of our destiny to fulfill Jesus’ joy, the passion that drives His Kingdom to come and will be done on earth as in heaven. The Lord also imparted this joy to Paul as he painted a picture of the joy set before him to the Thessalonians. His joy is in seeing a forward looking picture of Christ’s followers crowned with glory in Kingdom authority.
These biblical pictures can help us gain insights into answering a question that I often ask: what is joy? Is joy in the above verses talking about happiness or gladness? Yes, joy is about happiness but also much more.
Joy is happiness in the future that we can see today. The current state of our circumstance does not matter.
Joy is the hope that comes about when we see happiness in store in the future. That hope of seeing His Kingdom come is what drove Christ to endure the cross. That hope is the reason we declare that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Joy brought us salvation and salvation, in turn, brought us joy.
Let’s come together and kick off this first week of 2012 in a global prayer fellowship for joy – seeking to know joy so we can fulfill that joy set before Christ.
To revisit last week’s powerful sharing as we reflected on 3 years of continuous Global Prayer Connect, please click here.
