Don’t Let Bad News Steal Your Joy (1)

“That My joy may remain in you.”                       John 15:11 NKJV

Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”   If you think things are bad today, consider the world Jesus and His disciples lived and ministered in.  The Roman Empire ruled over every nation, including Israel.  Taxes were through the roof.  Freedom of speech and religion was so restricted that you could be imprisoned or killed for being a Christian.  Immorality and perversion were not only tolerated, but promoted.  Eventually Christ’s disciples would be put to death for their faith.  Yet He promised them that His joy would “remain in them,” and that their joy would be “full.”

So don’t let what’s going on in the world around you today dictate your attitude as a redeemed child of God.  Yes, there’s bad news.  But there’s also good news.  For the next few days let’s look at some of it.  (1) Muslims are coming to Christ faster than ever before.  In his book A Wind in the House of Islam, author David Garrison says that something unprecedented is stirring in the Muslim world.  “We are living in the midst of the greatest turning of Muslims to Christ in history.”  He cites evidence of powerful Christian movements that have started among Muslims since the year 2000.  (2) The gospel is transforming China.  A few years ago, The Telegraph reported that Christianity is growing so fast in China that it will most likely be considered a Christian nation by 2030.  Given China’s economic power, this has huge implications.  So rejoice, and don’t let the bad news steal your joy.

