The Wonder of it All

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the regional South African staff retreat along with the other staff and interns here in South Africa in addition to WOL staff from Mozambique. What a weekend.  Our speaker was none other than Wendell Calder, evangelist and teacher. Over the course of those few days, Dr. Calder led us through the book of Philippians. This was no coincidence. Over the past month or two, God has kept bringing that book back into my path through devos, sermons, and even my online Liberty classes. Clearly God was trying to get my attention. At the beginning of the weekend, Dr. Calder asked us a question… one that has not escaped my thoughts since the day he asked it. It was this:

Have you lost the wonder of it all?

Have I lost the wonder of it all?
Have I lost the joy of my salvation?
The joy of serving?
The joy of ministry?
The joy of life itself?

You may think these sound like silly or irrelevant questions to ask a bunch of missionaries since we are all overseas for the very purpose of ministering and serving Christ. We think that missionaries have it all together. Surely we must enjoy what we do or else we would not have given up everything in order to do it. Now, this is not to say that we do not find joy in being a part of what God is doing overseas because we do. I do. However, sometimes, we all let life rob us of our joy. Everything becomes all too familiar. The excitement and enthusiasm of our relationship with Christ or participation in ministry has faded.

But why?
What is the remedy?
What is living?

Paul summed it up well in Philippians 1:21 when he said, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Our lives are not our circumstances, the place we live, our successes or failures, or our occupation. Joy is the result of recognizing God for who he is & clinging to the truth that the “hope of the righteous brings joy” (Proverbs 10:28a). We can have joy because we have hope that this life is only the beginning & that despite the struggles, we can experience life abundantly. We lose joy when we fail to see God for who he is & lose sight of what he did for us when he sent Jesus to die on the cross.  Joy does not come naturally to our sinful nature but nevertheless, we are commanded to be joyful in all circumstances. Sometimes, we must cry out to the Lord, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:12). Remind me of why I'm here. Remind me of what you have done. Remind me that my life has purpose. Remind me that I CAN have joy. And Lord give me the willingness & ability to obey.

We are made to thrive, not just survive. Life is not meant to be dull & dismal. Take back the joy, amazement, and hope of what Christ has done & live every day in light of that. When life seems to fall apart, relationships are severed, ministry seems fruitless, you feel all alone in the fight, or have lost it all, you can cling to God’s promises and proclaim with Paul, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). No matter what life throws our way, we can rejoice in the God of our salvation!

Never lose sight of what Christ has done.
Never lose the joy of a personal relationship with him & the opportunity to serve him.
Never lose the wonder of it all.

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