Just Go, with Joy

I have a dear friend and running partner who is blessed with parents that are very active in her life, her husband's life and her children's life.  When we were running the other day she talked a little bit about her father.  He was coming to her house to be with her kids while she went to the dentist and she mentioned the fact that he would be about 20 minutes early.  I immediately chalked that up to an aging phenomenon that I have seen happen with my own grandparents and a little with my father.  The older they get, the earlier everything happens, including their arrival time.  However, to the contrary, her father has always run 20 minutes early as a result of his ability to just get up and go.  My friend illustrated that even when she was growing up he lived his life in such a way that he was never wrapping something up before he left or getting just one more thing done before he took advantage of what was in front of him.  He just went.  He took the opportunity in the moment it was given.

Isaiah had a similar response to taking an opportunity.  In Isaiah 6:8-9 it says, 'Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?"  And I said, "Here am I.  Send me!"'  Isaiah did not hesitate when the opportunity presented itself.  He just went.  And I believe he went with joy as the exclamation point at the end of statement indicates.  And this is what my friend's father does.  When asked to take an opportunity, spend time with his family, take care of his grandchildren, play golf, he just goes, no wrapping up, no one last thing to do, he just goes and does it joyfully.  Doesn't the ability to just go create joy purely in the ability to go and not be burdened by one last thing before we go?

My daughter has the ability to take an opportunity when it is presented; you might remember my story from the last post on her ability to leave an outlandish mess to run to her friend's house and play.  My son, however, does not have this same personality trait.  Cole is more thoughtful about his movements through his day.  He considers the time it will take, what the outcome will be as a result of the activity and how the activity fits into the overall picture of his day.  He has inherited this visionary quality with the inability to be spontaneous from ME!  But from Emma we are both learning to worry less about the mess on the floor.  It will be there when we get back for sure, so why rush into it?

The ability to be ready to take advantage of something in the moment is living in joy.  If we truly look for joy and approach each situation with joy, the joy that is found in the gifts of the Lord, then there is something different in our heart that is motivating us.  There is joy in the freedom that we have when we take advantage and leave the drudgery behind.  But there is a specific motivation that enables us to move through life with the ability to just go.  In Matthew 6:21 it says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  So where is our heart and our children's hearts?  What is our treasure at the center of our being, our heart?  That center and treasure are what enable us to go and to go joyfully.

We are God's cherished possession.  There is significant joy in the knowledge of that if we truly understand it.  He has chosen us, not because of what we have done, but because he loved us.  We are dear to his heart. 
"For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
 The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;.."  Deuteronomy 7:6-9
That alone makes me want to jump for joy!  If we are that dear to God, how dear is he to us?  Is he our treasured possession?  If he is our treasured possession and the treasure of our hearts then we walk through our days with joy and we don't worry about what is next.

Now, in all of this, I am not saying that we shirk responsibility.  There are necessities in life: laundry, making meals, driving all over kingdom come, making sure children are bathed and teeth brushed, etc. But do we find joy in that responsibility as well as allow ourselves to take full advantage of opportunities presented to us which may allow us to experience unadulterated Godly joy?  And are we emulating that joyful response and ability to just go to our children?

Psalm 16:11 says, "You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."  Do we take advantage of the pleasures available in daily life, the moments that we may miss if we are wrapping up one more thing before we go?  Do we stop and watch a silly cartoon with our kids, just because they want us to?  It is an opportunity, is it not?

We have all heard the 'don't out your eggs in one basket' mantra.  I want to challenge that.  If we put all our eggs in God's basket and he is our heart's treasure then we truly approach life from a different vantage point.  We just go.  And we go with joy.

By His Grace