JOY

I've been reading this little devotional & I HIGHLY recommend it! Actually...I recommend all of these little books by Lydia Brownback (there are several: Contentment, Trust, Joy, Purity). But today I cannot stop thinking about this morning's passage & had to share it with all two of you who read this :) It is centered around Philippians 4:10-11.

"True Discipleship will always, at some point or another, require us to forego one or more advantages that the world offers.  When that happens, we are going to respond in one of three ways.  We will let it go and count it all lost, as Paul did.  Or we will try to hang on to whatever it is we are being called to forego and seek to somehow fit it into our life of faith.  Or we will walk away from following Christ altogether.  Only one of those options will enable joy, and we know it, so why do we hesitate?  Why do we cling so tightly to anything that hinders our walk with God?  J.I. Packer exposes what underlies our unwillingness: 'We shrink from breaking with social conventions in order to serve Christ because we fear that if we did, the established structure of our life would collapse all around us, leaving us without a footing anywhere.  It is these half-conscious fears, this dread of insecurity, rather than any deliberate refusal to face the cost of following Christ, which make us hold back.  We feel that the risks or out-and-out discipleship are too great for us to take.  In other words, we are not persuaded of the adequacy of God to provide for all the needs of those who launch out wholeheartedly on the deep sea of unconventional living in obedience to the call of Christ...We are afraid to go all the way in accepting the authority of God, because of our secret uncertainty as to his adequacy to look after us if we do...There is no ultimate loss or irreparable impoverishment to be feared; if God denies us something it is only in order to make room for one or other of the things he has in mind.' (Knowing God, 246)."

GOOD stuff.  I'm learning so much about the Joy in Discipleship & dwelling on this all day!