God Issues Today: "Finding Your Joy"

Author, educator and commentator Dr. James Denison has been pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas since June, 1998. Prior to that, he was pastor at churches in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as Midland (at First Baptist!) and Mansfield, Texas.

"There may be some good news in the bad news. This morning's Wall Street Journal reports that overall economic output decreased less than the reduction in the number of hours worked. In other words, businesses appear to be increasing productivity even as the economy is going through its most severe contraction in decades. Such productivity growth should drive profits, and hopefully wages, higher in the future.

These days, we'll take positive economic news wherever we can find it. But if you're like most of us, the protracted recession threatens to sap your spirit and rob your joy. How can we experience the presence and peace of Jesus in these hectic times? I have been rereading Thomas Kelly's classic A Testament of Devotion. This Quaker missionary was a scholar in philosophy of religion, but even more a student of the soul. He suggests some principles which may help us find the serenity of the Spirit for these days.

First, invite Christ to dwell in your soul. Make him your Savior and Lord. This is God's desire and invitation to you: "Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continually return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-worn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself" (p. 9). If you have asked Jesus to forgive your mistakes and become your Lord, you are the child of God. His Spirit now lives in you, ready to help you experience the presence of your Father.

Next, learn to practice his presence through each day. Kelly: "There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we may be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings. . . . It is at this deep level that the real business of life is determined" (p. 12-13).

How do we live on this deeper level? "By quiet, persistent practice in turning of all our being, day and night, in prayer and inward worship and surrender, toward Him who calls in the deeps of our souls" (p. 15).

We turn our thoughts to God constantly. We pray to him with brief phrases all through the day. We seek his word in our minds and hearts. As we walk in his presence, we find that he prays for us and through us. We find ourselves carried along by his Spirit. We sense ourselves in his peace, and his peace is ours. Let's continue tomorrow."