“. . . the joy of the Lord is your strength” ( Nehemiah 8:10 ). We spoke yesterday of burdens. Some burdens which we should never carry and others which we carry but should always share. There is another burden. It brings joy and by its very nature it is shared. It is the burden of the presence of God. This burden belongs to the believer and it brings joy when the believer makes a moral decision about sin and the ever-present God can begin His work.
“Where do the saints get their joy? If we did not know some Christians well, we might think from just observing them that they have no burdens at all to bear. But we must lift the veil from our eyes. The fact that the peace, light, and joy of God is in them is proof that a burden is there as well. The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine, but most of us see only the wine and not the burden. No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner invincibility.”
The presence of God is a burden in that it applies pressure for change. With God comes an intolerance for things which are not of God, a desire for the things of God and a melding of our desires with the desires of God. If we allow it, we become dissatisfied with the worldly. We have a “burden” for the lost. God places a specific burden: His plan for us in us and slowly and gently as we give in we are moved ahead in that plan. There lies the joy, the only really true joy that comes in being what we were intended to be and doing what is consistent with that.
If your life is producing only a whine, instead of the wine, then ruthlessly kick it out and let God and His blessings in.
Nick
Be the first to reply