Notes on Joy

As Christians we Garner our Joy from the Lord.

This is done so in 2 ways:

We get Joy in

1. Taking on the suffering of Christ
- as we suffer through this Life we can identify, in a small
way, with the suffering that Christ experienced.

2. God had a sovereign will for our Lives, and in it He is Glorified
a. Through our sanctification - II Peter 1:3-25

b. Through the shaping of our Lives- as Jars of Clay II
Corinthians 4:7-18

c. Joy in his correction of us, discipline, and suffering
Hebrews 12, James 1

The entire world is based around relational interactions. By nature
we are relational beings. God by, definition, is relational as he is
a triune God. Three in ONE. He is One Yet each part is in relation
to each other the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God sacrificing his
son was the ultimate sacrifice as he cleaved himself-separated
himself from the Son. An ultimate Break in relationship with his
Son. He Broke himself for us as sinners. As we experience
brokenness in our lives, this is a shadow of what the Father and Son
experienced.

We can boast in the Lord and his promises. In times of indecision,
confusion, pain, we are to look to the Lord for our Joy. Our Joy is
in him being glorified by what he is doing in our and others Lives.
However uncomfortable that may be to us, we are to gain Joy by his
will being done. Our Joy is in our Hope, our believed in future that
lies with him. We get Joy from rejoicing in our believed in hope-his
will being done in our Lives. His plan is greater than anything we
could dream of and his plan for our lives will save and sanctify us.
He drags us ever closer to him every day.