The Joy-Barometer

There is no place where I feel closer to my husband than right next to him; in his company, where I can feel him and touch him and even hear his whisperings... proximity makes all the difference in marriage! You wont have a happy marriage if you live in different parts of the world and never communicate and never see each other... your marriage will be without joy. You might find your joy elsewhere but your marriage will definitely be lacking.

YUP. The joy-barometer. This concept is very useful in determining 'where' I am at... 

A barometer is an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure and accordingly to forecast changes in the weather.

I love that word: FORECAST. Predict. 

WARN!

Joy is my me*- barometer. When my joy level is low, then I need to see it as a warning of a me-storm brewing up ahead! 

It affords me the opportunity to make timely changes and avoid a catastrophe.

*(I initially used the wording 'spiritual', but the truth is, that my life as a believer is wrapped up in more than just my 'spirituality'... it is the essence, the all-encompassing of who I am.)

In Psalm 16:11 it says: "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy..."

IN YOUR PRESENCE IS FULLNESS OF JOY...

When my joy is running low or empty, then I know that I am not living in God's presence and I am not surrendering to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I love the simplicity of it: 

My joy-level is an indication of God's presence (closeness, proximity) in my life.

And I love it even more, that when I do become joyless, I need only run to Him and repent, and He embraces me with open arms. There is no greater JOY than this!

awesome

Some more points to ponder:
First Point: We can live outside of God's presence...

Yes, you might say, but isn't God omnipresent? Meaning He is present everywhere, in other words His presence is here too. True. But. God might be in our presence... that doesn't mean we are in His presence. Let me explain: my husband can be in the room where I am, but if I don't acknowledge and see or hear him in the room, then, it is as if he is not even there. I was not influenced by his presence because I was not aware of him. How often do we go through our day without any awareness or acknowledgement of God..?

This portion of scripture refers to what is called God's manifest presence- it is God's presence based on His covenant (promise) with us when we are saved (born again) of a restored relationship. Through the Holy Spirit, we now have access to God's manifest presence- to a close, personal relationship. The Holy Spirit is God ever-present in our lives but, like with any relationship, we can choose to ignore the relationship. However, when we treasure and deepen our relationship with God and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit, then we are living in the manifest presence of God. In God's company, close to Him.

Living a Spirit-led life is not a general Christian theme but a current one. Meaning I live in God's presence today, now... God wants me to journey with Him- "He makes known the path of life" (road, movement, going somewhere). 

He is on the move and He expects me to go with Him and therefore what I did last year is not sufficient to keep me in the presence of God. Does it mean I lose my salvation? No. But it does mean that my life is lived with very little influence of His presence (one can almost say, like living "outside of His presence"). 

The result is that I miss the path of life- that critical period between birth and death! :) 

Life is the ability to grow; to experience; to be useful... 

God has so much awesome, adventurous, faith-filled LIFE He wants me to live as a believer but often, I settle to live outside of God's presence, merely surviving/coping; doing whatever I like or whatever keeps me busy until I get to heaven. It is a sad, miserable boring uneventful uninspiring unfulfilling selfish life. It is an 'under the weather', stormy, gloomy kind of way to live. BECAUSE...

Second Point: Outside of God's presence there is a lack of joy (!!).  

The opposite of joy is ill-being, miserable, unhappy, wretchedness. And so often, we try and change the atmosphere through busyness and ambition and distractions -making money to spend money... 

How can I stay close to God? Primarily, through His Word (the Bible), and through communication (prayer) with Him. There are other "spiritual disciplines" too, but for me, these are the most important- prayer and reading God's Word- that I can practice on a daily basis. I can choose and train myself to live with a constant awareness of Jesus.