Do you have Enough Joy?!

1 Peter 3:8  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy

Joy, SUCH joy!!  What does joy mean to you?  As I sit here writing this, I am literally counting the hours, Yes I am really counting hours (36 to be exact), until my youngest child will be born.  You see, I am having a scheduled cesarean section early due to some complications, so therefore I know the exact hour in which I will give birth, hear that beautiful cry of new life, and finally see the face of this precious child that I have been carrying for 9 months now.  Sure I have felt her move for many months now, and we have seen her on the ultrasound machine many times, but that is nothing compared to seeing her in the flesh, face to face.  I can touch her, kiss her, hold her, smell her.  If you are a parent yourself, then what I am describing to you is nothing you have not experienced.  For most of us, it is one of the single most important and memorable moments of our lives.  Why wouldn't it be?!  We have waited for this for months, and sometimes even for many many years. We should be excited, overjoyed, and completely in awe of what we just witnessed and what we can now see.  Of course, whether you have a situation like mine where it is scheduled, or even if you just have a estimated date when baby will be making that arrival, we plan and prepare like crazy.  Bringing a new baby into the world takes a ton of preparation, planning, praying, re-arranging, the list goes on and on.  So do you sit back and wait for that baby to arrive before painting the nursery, buying that crib, getting them clothes?  Of course not!  Number one, you are excited so you eagerly prep for that child, sometimes preparing way in advance of what is actually needed "just in case."  Number two, it would just not be practical nor logical to wait for the baby to arrive before getting the must-have supplies, right?!  You do everything that you can to be ready far in advance and do not leave any stone that you can think of un-turned.  That joy, that anticipation, tends to consume our every thought, especially near the end.  Sometimes I feel bad for those I come into contact with because all I hear come out of my mouth is baby, baby, BABY!  But I can not help it!  It happens to be all consuming and hard to just push out of your mind.  Well, this brings me back to God.  And no, not for the usual reason of children being God's blessings and rewards from him (which they are but that is not where I am going THIS time.)

Where my thoughts led the other night was to this...

That joy, that excitement, that anticipation, that overwhelming consuming fire going on inside;  this is how we SHOULD feel about seeing Jesus.  Even though earth-side we can not see him, can not feel him in the flesh, we know that he is there and we love him.   Like the unseen child for  those first 9 months, you love them regardless of the fact you have never really seen or touched them.  He literally died for us, and once we have accepted and claimed that, we should be so excited to know that we will one day meet him, Face to Face!!  With this knowledge, we need to be diligent in making sure that we are preparing for that day.  This life is not just a mindless journey that we have to endure until we meet our maker.  We each have a God given purpose to seek Him, to seek His face, in all we do.  Are you excited?  Are you overjoyed?  Are you anticipating that reunion with the Father?  If so, how are you preparing?  Are you waiting until the very end, or until the ship has already sailed, to get ready? I, myself, refuse to wait.  I want to be ready now!  In my every day life I want to be on fire for Him so that others may see the joy that knowing Him brings.  We are even instructed to "Consider it Pure Joy when you face trials."  That is so powerful!  We are expected to be joyful no matter what situation we are in here on Earth, not just when we are going through the good times, or when we have exciting earthly things to look forward to.  Be joyful in ALL you do!!  If you are excited about something, everyone around you will see that, and whether they walk away, or get excited with you, I guarantee you left them with something to think about.