Oswald Chambers: Joy - Strength In The LordSýnishorn

There is nothing more irritating than the counsel, “keep smiling”; that is a counterfeit, a radiance that soon fizzles out. The one thing that Jesus Christ does for a man is to make him radiant, not artificially radiant. The joy that Jesus gives is the result of our disposition being at one with His own disposition. The Spirit of God will fill us to overflowing if we will be careful to keep in the light. We have no business to be weak in God’s strength.

We have no business to tell God we cannot stand any more; God ought to be at liberty to do with us what He chooses, as He did with His own Son. Then whatever happens our life will be full of joy.

Reflection Questions: Is my smile forced or natural? Is my joy a hopeful pretense or inner radiance? Do I trust that God can give me joy through circumstances that I do not choose?

Quotations taken from The Place of Help, © Discovery House Publishers