DAY 27 – God wants ___________(your name) to soar!

Please read John 16:20-24

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” -C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

“ A wild duck was flying northward with his mates across Europe during the springtime.  En route, he happened to land in a barnyard in Denmark, where he quickly made friends with the tame ducks that lived there. The wild duck enjoyed the corn and fresh water. He decided to stay for an hour, then for a day, then for a week, and finally, for a month. At the end of that time, he contemplated flying to join his friends in the vast Northland, but he had begun to enjoy the safety of the barnyard, and the tame ducks had made him feel so welcome. So he stayed for the summer. One autumn day, when his wild mates were flying south, he heard their quacking. It stirred him with delight, and he enthusiastically flapped his wings and rose into the air to join them. Much to his dismay, he found that he could rise no higher than the eaves of the barn. As he waddled back to the safety of the barnyard, he muttered to himself, “I’m satisfied here, I have plenty of food, and the area is good. Why should I leave?” So, he spent the winter on the farm. In the spring, when the wild ducks flew overhead again, he felt a strange stirring within his breast, but he did not even try to fly up to meet them. When they returned in the fall, they again invited him to rejoin them, but this time, the duck did not even notice them. There was no stirring within his breast. He simply kept on eating corn, which made him fat.”  A parable by Soren Kierkegaard

Every human wants joy or at least happiness in his or her life. People look for Joy in prestigious college degrees, jobs, relationships, etc., and continue in those situations/relationships hoping that one-day joy will pop up. The sad part is while God created you and me for a life of Joy in Jesus, we settle for stuff that gives us fleeting joy. 

So how do we get this joy? When you and I value Jesus’ promise of his presence (John 16:22) – right now he resides in us and one-day he will be with us forever. King David teaches this in when sings, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

Next, we have to ask for what really matters for us. You and I should be focusing on Christ’s joy and ask for what truly matters (John 16:24) for the objective of our lives is “ask and …. receive" the right thing. David tells us the same (Psalm 5:11, 51:12).

Dear Jesus you created me to soar, but I constantly shift my focus on things that give me temporary pleasure and then grief. I thank you for your patience towards this prodigal fool. Amen.