Have You Seen My Shoes?

Joy is a valuable commodity in heaven. Jesus died for joy.

Hebrews 12:2b, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame...”

On Monday, David introduced our theme for the week – a moment of joy – and he admitted to some strange behaviour, all in the name of joy in the presence of the Lord. Who knew the presence of the Lord looks amazingly like the end of a night at the bar? Drunk is drunk, except one leads to life and the other leads to debauchery, bad decisions and death.

To be honest, I liked my party days – it was fun. If it wasn’t enjoyable, partying with drugs and alcohol wouldn’t have the temptation like chocolate for a women with PMS but it is fun and when I turned away from that lifestyle, I mourned the good times. NOT that I would have chosen to return because I also remember feeling terrible the next day and regretting some of my decisions I had made the night before. Therefore, I was overjoyed when I realized that the devil didn’t create good times, no, that’s something the Lord did for us because joy is a high commodity in heaven.

I could say so much about joy but the theme is a moment of joy that we remember. One of the sweetest moments of joy in my memory still brings feeling of peace and euphoria every time I think of it, so the practice of writing this week has been an exercise of reliving the moment – thank you Tony for choosing this theme.

Joy is the emotion, source and expression. I believe true joy can only be found in Jesus – sometimes it’s so good, it feels illegal, but like the country song, “If it feels so right, it can’t be wrong.”

On this particular evening, I was at a church service for a dream workshop/conference. As the worship started, my friend leaned over and said, “Don’t feel you have to hold back.” And that night I didn’t.

The worship time was beyond pleasant – laughter, visions and feelings of peace. It was impossible for me to stay in my seat and at some point, I abandoned my shoes. Later in the evening, I asked my friend, “Do you know where my shoes are? I can’t find them.” Until that point, that was something I’d never heard [or said] in church.

As the sweet presence of Jesus came into the room and stayed, I laid down. I felt like I was floating in water. The meeting progressed around me but I could only focus on one thing – Jesus. He was real, he was present and he was more than I could drink in. It was glorious and heavenly and my joy was complete in that moment.

How has Jesus made your joy complete?