Disappointing Joy!

"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (I John 2: 1,2 NIV)

Things that bring great joy
Sometimes allow disappointment to seep
Into our beings, clinging, cloying our minds,
Taking away the good, replaced with evil thoughts,
Designed to lead one into temptation's snares,
Choking back the warnings aired, stifling desire to do right,
Ignited by temptation's blinders, shackled by flesh
Ignoring Spirit's, "Warning, Warning, Danger ahead!"
And then when speckled, stained, tainted memory's dust,
Takes time to see beyond the smeared rainbow bent,
By disobedience, and distrust, joy once known, disappoints
And the nerves once tinkling with anticipation, now dulled
By pain and anguish, frustration and guilt--Not by what's done,
But the warning ignored and disregarded, like so many
Who came before, refusing to heed the signs of the times,
Determined to do things our own way, without clear vision,
Minds clouded by love and lights that falsely portray.
No matter what we do or have done, John reminds us,
Our lives are not about us, but Him, and our missteps,
Forgiven, forgotten when we repent,
Sincerity ballooning our hearts and mouths, as we seek,
Forgiveness of others and forgiving ourselves,
Remembering great joy can be disappointing.

Although we claim the joy of the Lord is our strength, we sometimes forget that it is because of His sacrifice that we are saved from ourselves and that is the joy we have in Him. However, He takes great joy in our success when we obey and then when we are tempted beyond our own ability to resist, we are disappointed with us. When we don't know how to forgive "self" for not heeding warnings, we make matters worse by taking our disappointment out on others.

Let's heed the warning of God's Word and all who have our best interest in mind. He gives us warnings to keep us safe from harm and when we do not heed them, we step into the snare set by enemy to create chaos and confusion. Let's give the devil no place in our lives and kick confusion in the outer realms of Satan's domain, so he is the only one confused.

There is great joy in serving The Lord and derived from our obedience, but we must take care to do all things according to The Word and not attempt to rely upon our own wisdom. Holy Spirit's job is to remind us of those things we have been taught, and show us things to come and when we see danger, we must be diligent to warn those in harm's way. If we see danger and say nothing, the end result is on us; but if we see danger and warn others and they don't pay attention to the warning, the end result is on them. God's Word has not changed and will not change and we must learn to hear Holy Spirit or those to whom He has spoken.

When we do what God would have us to do, we will not know--disappointing joy, but joy to the full in Jesus Christ!