Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory!!!!!!/ My Testimony!

                               1 Peter 1:3-8
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various [a]trials, 7 so that the [b]proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which [c]is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and [d]full of glory,

We sing the song and we proclaim the joy but do we really have it? Are they just words to a song or is your life evident of this joy?

Joy is a gift of God. An inward cheerful reflection of the nature of God.
Paul and Silas, were filled with that joy as they sang in that prison as they had been beaten and they were in pain with their backs oozing  and bleeding . It is a joy that catches the attention of the believers and unbelievers alike. It is a joy that makes people that come in contact w/ you or who know you say, I want what they have...It is a joy from our salvation, it is Jesus in our hearts.Obeying Jesus' commands is the key to unlocking that joy.

I grew up in church, was raised to know all about being and living a christian life . But, from teenhood on to some of my young adult life i had strayed from being a christian though I never stopped believing in Jesus and what He did on that cross for me. Then a time came when I was hospitalized for a mini stroke and my mother's pastor came to visit me. I will never forget that man as long as I live... Pastor Mark Walker walked into my hospital room and yes, I will admit the first thing I and every nurse on that floor noticed was that he was to die for gorgeous. But, then I saw it... He had something radiating from him that I couldn't look away from but, I new that I had to have it for myself...He had Joy unspeakable and full of glory.... He glowed with the joy of the Lord. that was the day my life turned around for the good and I am still here today to serve God as long as I live.

A lot of people like to identify themselves as "Christians" by their bumper stickers or the crosses they wear or the artwork they display in their homes, Or by their pious talk, or by the fact that they go to church every sunday. But a clear, distinguishable mark of the faith of Jesus Christ is this joy unspeakable and full of glory that results from a life of obedience to Jesus' comands.

Joy unspeakable and full of glory is ours if we trust Jesus fully, if we prove to be His friends, if we obey His commands. Paul wrote to the romans.....the kingdom of God is not what you eat or drink; it is righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit.

How many of us "christians" today could live like the early christians... some homeless, some not sure of where their next meal will come from , some beaten and tortured and some even killed because they bore the name christians and yet they still retained  their joy in the Lord. Could you do it? I would like to think I could but, I don't know. To many christians today say and sing  that they have the joy of the Lord, joy unspeakable and full of glory , yet they are depressed, discouraged, angry, worried, miserable, unhappy, etc.  but there is hope for all of us...

Phillipians 4:8 tells us how to retain that joy. How to have a life of joy unspakable and full of glory.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [a]lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, [b]dwell on these things.

As for me, I plan to keep working on that joy regardless of my situations just as it says in James 1:2.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.