{"id":14145,"date":"2016-03-07T09:27:36","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T14:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=14145"},"modified":"2016-03-07T12:52:48","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T17:52:48","slug":"the-source-of-abundant-joy-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=14145","title":{"rendered":"The Source of Abundant Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. \u2014<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?version=31&amp;search=Romans+8%3A37\" target=\"_blank\">Romans 8:37<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Sxohx7IcN1Q\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nPaul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that \u201cin all these things we are more than conquerors.\u201d We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.<\/p>\n<section class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let\u2019s apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against\u2014 tribulation, suffering, and persecution\u2014 are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. \u201cWe are more than conquerors through Him\u201d \u201c<em>in<\/em> all these things\u201d; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn\u2019t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but <em>because<\/em> of it. Paul said, \u201cI am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2+Corinthians+7:4\">2 Corinthians 7:4<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to \u201cseparate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Romans+8:39\">Romans 8:39<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Journal DJR<br \/>\nGood morning, Lord. We liked the wording &#8230; &#8220;A saint doesn\u2019t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it.&#8221; And the word picture of the experienced surfer thrilling at waves that would terrify the beginner. I suppose the only way to get to be like that surfer is to face bigger and bigger waves? Bigger and bigger challenges in life?<\/p>\n<p><em>You can never gradually build up to all of the challenges that will come your way. You may build up your trust in one area but there are so many different challenges that may come&#8230; you will never be able to build up to all of them. And besides&#8230; the analogy kind of breaks down, because the surfer is gradually building trust in HIS ability, not mine. Rather what you need is to build your belief that whatever the circumstance, that, &#8220;I&#8217;ve got this.&#8221; I&#8217;ve got you covered. Covered with my love. My grace. Regardless of the physical circumstances that may look bad or good, just believe that I&#8217;ve got this.<br \/>\n<\/em><br \/>\nRomans 8:28(NLT)<\/p>\n<p><em>28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.<br \/>\n<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Images like these and stories like Paul rejoicing in prison, are good for you to practice the way you look at life. Just remember that the goal is not to rely on your own increasing abilities. But that &#8220;I&#8217;ve got this&#8221; no matter what happens. Then you can be filled with joy regardless of yucky circumstances.<br \/>\n<\/em><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/episode_603938_13970_full.png\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n(From Kayak Session Short Film of the Year Awards 2015)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/PastedGraphic-11.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. \u2014Romans 8:37 Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14145"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14145"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14157,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14145\/revisions\/14157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}