Are You on Your Way 2 Destination? Joyful! (tm)

It’s great to be with you in this quest for Destination? Joyful! ™ Grab your coffee and let’s get back to the analogy of a hypocrite to a flourishing tree, an analogy full of ingredients to avoid in the recipe of joy.
In Job 8:11-14, Matthew Henry compares the hypocrite to a flourishing and well-rooted tree, which did not wither in and of itself, but as the Word says, and Bildad said, it will easily be cut down and exist no more. Obviously pride has no place in the recipe of joy! The crazy thing about Bildad’s summation is he thinks he’s talking about Job, or encouraging Job to come clean and confess whatever he’s done to bring upon himself all these troubles and yet I can see that this applies to Bildad as well!
And haven’t we all wondered at someone who we think we know is not walking with the Lord but everything he does prospers? But God knows that their roots are not rooted; rather they reach and climb over a bunch of rocks and eventually, wither. (Job 8:16-17) So it is with a hypocrite – one who says one thing and does another, and a hypocrite has no joy for joy has no residence in selfishness; rather flourishes in selflessness!
Such a person will not remain standing -- those who make a great noise boasting about all they have, all that they are, who they are -- but suddenly, and when they least expect, neither root nor branch is left (Mal 4:1)! In other words, any kind of worldly gain is external and only lasts for a short while. True joy will carry us into eternity.
And finally we get back on track to our first context of joy in this book of Job: (Job 8:19): “Behold, this is the joy of His way.” In other words, God always wins! It is not His desire that anyone should perish, but as it says in Psalms, “The way of the ungodly shall perish.” (Psalm 1:6)
When we read through the book of Job, it’s hard to imagine that he had joy as he suffered through all the calamity that was heaped upon him, but he did for he had a deep sense of God and he knew God well enough that he could experience a sort of peace – another ingredient of joy – amidst the chaos.
Now that is some true joy. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow for Jeff’s Java Hour, a new addition to Chicklit Power and I must say, I’m thoroughly enjoying what he brings!
Blessings in all your tomorrows,

Evinda