Three Treasures

A friend today asked me when was the last time I felt real happiness. I did not take long to answer because I had thought about this one for the past couple of days because I was really down the past couple of days. My last moment of happiness was when I had lunch with a friend before he left to go teaching at an international school. We hung out for three hours and this brother is a true encouragement. There are some in the church who just have this positive effect of rubbing off positivity. There are key essentials in the Christian life we cannot life without. Joy is one of them. God, certainly is the true source of joy. The author here mentions the three key treasures of the Christian.

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." Paul wrote those words in Romans 15:13; it was his prayer for his friends in Rome. Three words stand out in this statement--hope, joy, and peace.
Paul tells us that our God is the God of hope. God wants us to look ahead with hope and not with despair. Whenever the Old Testament prophets thundered out their predictions of judgment, they always wove into the dark cloud of judgment the silver lining of hope. In fact, some of the greatest promises of hope in the Bible are found in the midst of dark messages of judgment.
You and I need never fear the future. God knows and controls the future. He knows the end from the beginning; He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. God is never surprised or caught off guard." (p. 128)
We need never fear the future, and yet fear keeps on burdening me right now because of my health situation, joblessness situation, singleness situation, and different issues with family members. I feel in a sense taking on the burdens of the world and feel increasingly spent. God knows my future and according to Jeremiah 29:11, His future for me is not harm but hope. I've recently been going through Isaiah. There is much judgement, doom, and gloom in most of Isaiah. However, interwoven in the final few chapters is the message of hope and salvation. Better days are ahead, according to Scripture. Like yesterday's text, we cannot predict the future based on the past. God can heal us tomorrow. God can provide a job after many years of joblessness. This is the power of the God of hope. God want us to look to Him with hope.
"Christian joy is not the same as happiness, although it can include happiness. Happiness so often depends on happenings. If things are going right with us, we are happy; if the situation changes, we become unhappy: Joy is much deeper than that. It is inward confidence and well-being that only the Holy Spirit can give. I have experienced the deepest joy while suffering the greatest pain. Joy is not created by circumstances on the outside; it is the resuh of conditions on the inside. The joyful Christian faces life without fear or complaint. Each new day is a new challenge. Each problem is an opportunity to grow and see God work. Joy is really a by-product of a life of service to God and others. If you start searching for joy, you will never find it. But if you surrender to God and do His will, joy will come to your heart. Joy adds a special quality to life that nothing else can add. Our friends can tell when this joy is overflowing in our hearts, and it is this kind of joy that attracts people to our Savior. Billy Sunday used to say, "If you have no joy in your religion, there's a leak in your Christianity somewhere." (p. 129-130)
Inner-confidence and well-being is joy. Joy does not depend on circumstance. Joy is one of the key markers of the Christian. I have known many Christians who exhibit joy even through tough situations. For those of us lacking joy, it is true, there is a leak in our Christianity somewhere. Joy has been really hard for me especially this week. I was really discouraged yesterday almost all day. I felt like this also on Monday and Sunday but not as bad as yesterday. Somewhere there is a leak in my Christianity. I can't see God in my situation. Like yesterday, like the man who wanted healing, he was focused on the problem and I have been so burdened by my problems that I can't see the God who can solve my problems.  
"Along with joy is the gift of peace. "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing .... " This is the peace that Jesus meant when He said to His followers, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you .... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). Here was Jesus, facing the terrors of the cross, yet He was giving peace to His followers!
What a thrilling experience it is when you yield to the Spirit of God and let Him fill your heart with these gifts! With hope and joy and peace filling your heart, you can face life with a new power and courage, knowing that Christ will see you through.
The future is always bright because God has the future in His hands. For the Christian, the best is yet to come. Christ always saves the best wine for the last. For the unsaved person, the worst is yet to come. The unsaved man is having his heaven right now, because death is coming and after that the judgment. But the Christian never has to fear the future; his heart is filled with hope from the God of hope. And the Christian never has to fret about the present, because his heart is filled with joy. No matter how difficult or uncomfortable the present circumstances might be, there is joy in our hearts from Jesus Christ." (p. 130).
Prayer:
Father, I am just so burdened with worry about the future, discouraged about the present, and having no peace about the past - wondering what did I do to be in this situation. I have very little peace, joy, or hope in my life right now and surely there is a leak in my Christianity. Father, please help me to fix the leak. I can't see You in my situation, Your hand of healing and protection, and Your presence to comfort and guide. I feel alone, tired, and hungry. I need hope, joy, and peace that can come only from Your Holy Spirit. I want to believe that tomorrow will be better than today. I want to believe that You are the God of the impossible and that You are mighty to save.