Joy Like Jesus

Jesus left all that he had in order to give us all that he is. We call this the humiliation of Christ. His humiliation was voluntary. He desired to do the Father's will and in fact covenanted with God the Father before time began to become a man in order to save the Father's people from their sin. While on earth, Jesus found great joy in doing the Father's will – even when it was hard and even when it led to his own death. As painful as Jesus' last prayer in the garden was, we still sense a deep-seeded joy in Jesus. He was going to accomplish all that the Father had willed. Jesus was able to remain steadfast in joy because the Father's will was also his will. In order to have the kind of joy that Jesus had we too must humble ourselves willingly to the Father's will. We must constantly be willing to go to the places that Father has in store for us. It is in those places, whether of pain or happiness, that we can experience great joy because we are submitted to the Father's desire and plan for our life. The maximum amount of joy is found in the heart of God's will for us regardless of where that will lead us in life.