Positive Christian Motivation

Choosing Joy Through Faith, Love, and Forgiveness - Powerful Motivation

Make God's word your ultimate source of daily motivation as you tune in to this impactful episode filled with motivational messages, empowering life advice, inspiring teachings, and stories. Enjoy this remarkable blend of spiritual insights and empowering inspiration that motivates you to become the best version of yourself and nourishes your spiritual connection with God.

Duration:: 11m
Broadcast on:: 28 Jun 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

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By honoring your career calling, you impact your family, your friends, and your community. The pursuit to serve others is yours. Find your purpose at Grand Canyon University, Private, Christian, Affordable. Visit gcu.edu. Are you familiar with the Bible story about the crucifixion of Jesus? I am sure you all know it. It is the hype for all of us as people of faith. But let me ask you today, what do you know about it? Or maybe I should ask, what do you hear people talking about it? Certainly most of us look at it and see the pain, the suffering of the most innocent victim for our redemption, Jesus Christ. Still, there are some of us who will look at it with deeper depth and see the love of God which surpasses all love. But is there anybody who can see joy in it? Can you feel there is also a stream of joy flowing from that event? It is the encounter between Jesus and the repentant thief. Luke chapter 23 verses 39 to 43, NRSV accounted. One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." But the other rebuked him saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom." He replied, "Truly, I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise." At noon, when darkness covered all the earth before Jesus mounted the wood of the cross, this encounter has given birth to true joy. And this true joy is born of decisions. By making a choice to repent, the thief has attained the joy of eternal happiness. By making a choice to forgive, Jesus has shown that he loved till the very end. In the same way for our life, joy is the decision. And this decision is within our own power. You may get confused of the numerous things happening in your life, which cause you anxiety. But remember, you can always make a decision that gives you joy. Or in other words, you can always choose joy. Joy is the decision you can make and choose. Joy is the way. Sometimes, we are so caught up with responsibilities with worries that we choose to do the things which do not make us happy. We advocate self-sacrifice as the foundation of morality. We think that making others happy is more important than making ourselves happy. But the fact is this. The two are not mutually exclusive. Making oneself happy and making others happy are intertwined. The happier we are, the more happiness we can give. The more happiness we can give, the happier we become. Remember, we cannot give what we do not have. Additionally, Ecker told a German-born spiritual teacher and self-help author of The Power of Now and a New Earth once said, "You cannot receive what you do not give." Overflow determines inflow. Whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you already have. But unless you allow it to flow out, you won't even know that you have it. This is also a reason of many suicidal attempts, of depressions here and there. People have forgotten how to be happy. They forgot that happiness is already there, within them. They forget that they have a power to choose joy. Obviously, this decision is to be respected by everyone else. And do you think that God would also be happy when you are happy? For sure, the answer is yes. For God made us to be happy. And he knows how to make us truly happy. Joy and troubled times? How can we find joy when times are tough? How can we find joy when we lose our job and our family is going starving? How can we find joy when our dreams are shattered? How are we going to choose joy when we are already sad? And more, how can we live in joy when nothing is going our way? Pope Francis says in his apostolic exhortation entitled, "Guadium, there are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter." I realize, of course, that joy is not expressed in the same way at all times and like, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures. Even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. Additionally, I believe that it is the assurance that we are infinitely loved by God that will make us choose to be joyful always. Let us be thankful for the good things in our lives. Let us give praise to the Lord for His love as Psalm 136, verse 1 through 3, and our SV says, "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. O give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast loves endures forever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever." Even if our lives are not what we want it to be, we can still rejoice. Ecclesiastes 7, verse 14, and our SV says, "In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that comes after them." Yes, let us continue to rejoice both in the days of prosperity and of adversities, for they are all in God's will. Moreover, there is another reason to rejoice, that is, our sure hope in God's divine providence. Matthew 6, verse 25 to 32, and our SV says, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear, is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? And which of you, by worry, can add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so closed the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? Therefore, do not worry, saying, what will we eat, or what will we drink, or what will we wear? For it is the Gentiles who seek these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Yes, indeed, let us rejoice for we are taking care by God. Let us give our hearts to the Lord, and work on choosing and spreading joy. He will turn our sadness into rejoicing. Just remember, His love endures forever. You may wonder, what if you choose joy for yourself and choose it to give to others, but still that does not work. Still, you find what you do is not enough. There is still so much sadness around you, everywhere. You want to allow fear, heal pain, bind wounds, and fill hunger. You also want to confront hate, release yolks, free captives, and appease anger. Overall, you want to spread joy around. But as if it is impossible, you do not see any changes. You wonder if you are doing any good works. Imagine the farmers plowing through the fields and scatter good seed on the land. All they can do is to water, but it is taken care of by God's almighty hand. He sends the snow in winter, the warmth and summer, the breezes, the sunshine, and the soft refreshing rain and order to make the seed grow into a plant and make a harvest. All these good gifts, He is doing everything for your good. Philippians chapter 4 verse 4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, Rejoice. Rejoicing is a decision. Happiness is a decision. Joy is a decision. You claim yourself a Christian. That means you are called to joy, not to hopelessness and negativity. Let us focus on what God has done for us instead of dwelling on our current hardships. Let us share that joy and hope with others as well. God, fill my heart with your love. By making a choice to repent, the deep in the Bible has attained the joy of eternal happiness. By making a choice to forgive, Jesus has shown that He loved to the very end. By making joy my decision, may I have peace in this life and endless joy in the life to come. Amen.