{"id":6426,"date":"2012-03-07T06:13:38","date_gmt":"2012-03-07T14:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wordpress\/?p=6426"},"modified":"2012-03-07T07:27:29","modified_gmt":"2012-03-07T15:27:29","slug":"the-source-of-abundant-joy-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=6426","title":{"rendered":"The Source of Abundant Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us \u2014Romans 8:37<\/h2>\n<div><em>______________________________________________<\/em><\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"post-1034\">\n<div>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FnDtYtImiGk\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div>Oswald Chambers writes&#8230;<\/div>\n<div>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 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.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 \u201cin 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>).<\/div>\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<p>March 7, 2012<\/p>\n<p>Journal Entry for Today-JDV<\/p>\n<p>Lord, I can remember over the years reading and hearing these kinds of scriptures all my life: scriptures that told me that I am victorious, even though living in the middle of very difficult times. I can recall reading scriptures that told me I should rejoice while going through trials, and not to try and get out of them too early. And I just read that we are more than conquerors even when facing trials, troubles, hardships, and even death.<\/p>\n<p>Lord, I must admit, that over the years, when I would read these scriptures, and they all sound wonderful, high and noble, try as I might, I could not truly comprehend the real meaning until I lived them.<\/p>\n<p>And God says\u2026\u201d<em>Your very human nature is to seek pleasure, and avoid pain. Your first inclination, when confronted with a trial or difficulty, or failure to find the pleasure and peace you sought on your own terms, is to seek an immediate solution. It is not a part of your makeup to simply look at your circumstance and say to yourself\u2026\u201dI wonder how God will use this trial\u2026..and victory (whatever shape it takes) for others and myself?\u201d\u2026.\u201dI wonder how this will be used by God for my ultimate benefit and His honor and glory?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cHowever, you have learned and are learning that over time, as you stay connected to Me, you do not need freedom from trials, and wonderful worldly circumstances to find true happiness, and peace that passes understanding. You are learning that you do not need to control all your circumstances (or any of them) in order to find<br \/>\nlife and life more abundantly.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cYou are being taught this, by the Holy Spirit, as you live right in the middle of difficult times and stay focused on Me. As you live this way, (not in spite of your trials but because of them)\u00a0your life and the lives of others are being\u00a0transformed, and you are discovering\u00a0 super natural\u00a0victory and peace that is lived.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us \u2014Romans 8:37 ______________________________________________ Oswald Chambers writes&#8230; 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6426"}],"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=6426"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6436,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6426\/revisions\/6436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}