One of the plants I always notice this time of year is the bush on the side of my house. It's on the side of my house that I NEVER see, so I have to make a point to go look at it. It's a burning bush. For one month out of every year, it gets these deep red crimson leaves on it. Each time I notice the leaves turning, it always causes me to pause....stop....and look.
Now as I said, the funny thing about this plant is it's really only beautiful for one month. The rest of the year the leaves are green but the branches are brittle and kind of ugly. It's only for a short period of time in the fall that this plant is even one you would notice.
This got me thinking, how much time do we spend chasing things that only make us happy for a short period of time? I'll be completely honest, if this plant didn't grow all on it's own, I wouldn't take the time to care and water it. It REALLY only brings a little bit of happiness for a few weeks. AND the it's on the side of my house- I almost ripped it out of the ground the first year b/c I missed it's "good" month.
In our lives we spend a lot of time pursing and chasing HAPPINESS. The thing with happiness is that it's an emotion. Sometimes our emotions change by the second. We can be happy- excited to eat all the things that have been placed on our lunch tray. Then we trip and our food goes flying everywhere. Our happy lunch just became an embarrassment.
What we really need is something more stable, more permanent. Which brings me to an illustration to think about.
Something that gets lost to me in fall is evergreen trees. While all the other trees around us are changing to all these glorious colors, there are the evergreens. Not dropping anything and just remaining green.
God is constant. God isn't going to drop us like a leaf. God is going to remain the same, even as everything else seems to change. No matter what our mood, emotion, or day is like- God cares and loves us.
Let that sink in for a second.
No matter your emotion....God loves you.
See the words happiness and joy are different. They may get mixed together a lot, but they have their own personality. One of the definitions of joy that the dictionary gives is- a source or cause for delight.
If we look into the Bible, we even get a deeper meaning of joy. Check out what it says in Psalm 30:5- For his anger lasts only a moment but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes with the morning. And in Nehemiah 8:10- Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
In these two instances we see anger, and grief. But the joy that comes from the Lord overcomes both.
That is where joy comes from. It is the knowledge that Jesus took away all our sins. We are forgiven. With our belief in Jesus, we are saved. THAT is joy. That is something that lasts, that is unchanging, and that can't be taken away!
So this fall as you look around at all those beautiful trees that will bring you a little bit of happiness- don't forget the evergreens. Don't forget the constant in all our lives. That constant is God. That joy is from God.
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