Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.–Phil. 4:4
Truth be known, none of us are as good as we think, nor as we would like for others to think. Strange how we attach such a high rating to ourselves without ever conducting a test to see if it’s so. It’s easy to say,”I have forgiven you”, when we actually haven’t. Or say,”I’m content”, when in reality we aren’t. Another area where we are prone to lie to ourselves has to do with joy. Most of us aren’t nearly as joyful as we claim to be.So, how about putting putting your testimony to the test?
Adrian Rogers has suggested that we test ourselves to see if our joy is truly in Jesus. He said:
“What is bringing you joy today? You say, “The Lord is making me happy.” How do you know it’s not that nice automobile? Or that “special someone”? Or your good looks? Or your bank account? Or your popularity? Here’s how you can know. By the process of elimination. Let God take away your health, your home, your job, and if you still have joy, then you know it is Jesus.
If you lose your joy when you lose any of these things, you are an idolater because that is where you are getting your joy. I don’t mean that you cannot be temporarily upset over the loss, but if the joy goes out of your life, you weren’t getting your joy from the Lord.
You’ll never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”
