Contributor: Chad Roberts

What brings you joy?  We all have days that get us down.  When I lost eyesight in 2018, it was a most difficult adjustment.  To go completely blind at the age of thirty-eight is something I never expected.  No doubt, life has thrown you some curveballs as well.  I am sure you know what it is to go through seasons where you have to fight for joy.  Knowing what to be joyful about is half the battle.  

Born in 1899, Martin Lloyd-Jones would become one of the greatest preachers England ever produced.  He was pastor of the historic Westminster Chapel, and was a major influence on Christianity throughout the 1900s.  Toward the end of his life, he was diagnosed with bowel cancer.  As the disease took its toll on his body, he was unable to continue on in the work of the ministry.  Yet each morning, he would get out of bed, put on his three-piece suit, sit in his armchair, and edit sermon manuscripts for a couple of hours or as long as he physically was able.  He would then change back into his pajamas and be forced back into bed.

One morning during his routine, his biographer asked him how he felt to seemingly be put on a shelf.  God had used Dr. Lloyd-Jones all over the world and given him great influence in Christianity.  Now, he was confined to one small bedroom and nearly bedridden.  Dr. Jones replied, “No, I rejoice that my name is written in Heaven.”  What a great perspective!  

Do you rejoice that your name is written in the Lambs Book of Life?  Are you able to look beyond what you face in this life and feel the joy of eternity?  Paul said it like this, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).  Of all that can be lost, our health, our money, even our loved ones, what is guaranteed is the joy of our salvation.  Rejoice, for your name is written in Heaven!

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