“Since we are surrounded by so many examples of faith, we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up. We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Then he received the highest position in heaven, the one next to the throne of God. Think about Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners, so that you don’t become tired and give up.” (Hebrews 12:1-2, GW)

Coming off of Easter weekend, I thought it appropriate to consider a bit more about the sacrifice of our Lord and how that works with our concept of joy. I found more in these verses in Hebrews. They follow the great Hall of Faith chapter, and so the “many examples of faith” surrounding us include the likes of great Bible people described in Hebrews 11. Folks like Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Jepthah, Barak–indeed all of God’s faithful who have gone before us make up this “great cloud of witnesses” (as the NIV translates it), watching from the grandstands of heaven as we run the race that lies ahead of us.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that since this great crowd surrounds us, faithful people who in some cases died for their faith, we should look to their examples and get rid of anything that would slow us down. Like any good runner focusing on the finish line, we focus on Jesus, our ultimate example, the goal of our faith. “He saw the joy ahead of him” and endured the cross. When we think about him, we should be encouraged in our own individual race of life to not get tired and give up.

My race is different from your race; my track is different from yours. Like cross country runners, we all will wind through pleasant smooth pathways and up and down difficult hills (or mountains!). In order to keep going, I must strip away sin that entangles me and seeks to trip me up. I tend to worry a lot; doing that only slows me down, trips me up, distracts me, and at times even causes me to want to stop running altogether. What sin is weighing you down? Strip it off. Get rid of it.

Why should you keep running? Because there is an end to the race, my friend. Jesus endured because of the joy he saw ahead. You can endure for the same reason. There is joy ahead.

Are you weary of enduring hurt? Not feeling that you can take another step? Can joy be enough to look forward to? All that I’ve studied about joy in this past year tells me that yes, joy is the best enticement of all. It was enough for Jesus–He had left that joy and knew what He would be returning to. If it was enough for Him, how it could not be enough for me? I endure all of this patiently not because riches or fame await. Those would be of no lasting value. I endure not because death and nothingness await. That would be pointless. I endure not because I’m trying to be good enough so that I can do it all a little bit better in another life (talk about exhausting!). No, I endure because of the joy set before me. Deep abiding joy that no one can take away. Constant joy unmarred by sin and evil. Eternal joy in the presence of my God and all the witnesses who have gone before.

I don’t want anything to hinder me. Not my sin, my hangups, my fears, my worries, my hurts. I want to persevere, to not grow tired and give up.

After all, a whole crowd is cheering me on.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. . . . You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:20-24 ESV)

As we enter Easter week, I want to reflect on another passage from Jesus’ last words with His disciples prior to His crucifixion.

Last week we looked at John 15:10-11. There Jesus talked about true obedience and finding complete joy. Here in chapter 16, the theme continues. Jesus knows His followers will soon “weep and lament” while the world will rejoice in His coming death. But Jesus promises, “Your sorrow will turn into joy.”

These men do not know the horrifying events that will soon crash into their lives. They will run from their Master, grieve over His death, and then doubts will surely overwhelm them, causing them to wonder if they had wasted three years with a master manipulator. Satan will seek to decieve them in any way possible.

Jesus knows what will soon happen to Him, but even as He knows of His impending death, He cares for these followers in whom would be entrusted the future of Christianity. They need extra reassurance to make it through the events of the coming days unscathed. He had already told them three times in the course of the last three years that He would die and rise again, but it seemed they never really heard it. Oddly enough, He doesn’t repeat that here; He just speaks these words of assurance, of hope. If they will just listen and believe, their sorrow will turn into joy. They will see Him again–for real. Then they will be able to ask anything in His name and their joy will “be full.”

Grief turned to joy; joy complete–all centered around the resurrection. Because of the resurrection on Easter morning and the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ presence will be so real, so vital, that He will hear every request, every need, every concern, every desire, and He will answer.

Imagine such a promise! Imagine that it is true for you and for me! Hey wait–it is! “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” This is joy so complete that no one and nothing can ever take it away.

So we ask. That doesn’t mean the answer comes immediately or even that it is always the answer we think we want, but we have the joy of knowing that our request is heard, considered, and will be answered not “in the order it was received,” but when the time is exactly right in the vast landscape of our lives and of God’s plan for His world.

I’ve discovered that even in the most unhappy times, in the times when my prayers seem to be on hold, I can still find joy. It’s there–and it carries a deep weight working like ballast on my soul, keeping it from flopping to and fro on the waves of my emotions and impatience. All is well eventually, eternally, even when life hurts right now. My requests are heard in the halls of heaven and God will answer in exactly the right way at exactly the right time.

The joy that gives me–well, no one can take that away.

Dear Acquisitions Editors,

At Livingstone, we love acquisitions editors. Truly. Now, not in the sense that freelance writers love acquisitions editors because you are the gatekeepers of all things published. No, we love you because we understand your world.

We understand what you have to go through around the clock, month by month, year by year. We understand what it takes to sit at writers’ conferences hearing 15-minute pitches and hoping to find that “diamond in the rough” idea that just may be the next bestseller (and hoping for a bathroom break soon!).

Did you know that Livingstone exists to help publishers—folks like you who are looking for ideas to fill those slots in your lineup? Maybe you’ve got a book that was slated for a particular genre but the author isn’t delivering on time. Maybe another book project just isn’t coming through as you had hoped. At this time you may be trying to come up with yet another dynamite idea for Christmas for next year (or this year!). Or maybe you’re still looking for ideas for 2010 and beyond.

Livingstone’s motto, “Ideas to Marketplace,” is focused with you in mind. You see, while we can write, edit, design, and typeset (with more than 20 years of experience doing so), we also have a really good record of coming up with great ideas to help you get your job done.

For instance, maybe you didn’t know that the bestselling Life Application Study Bible (which started our company) was the brainchild of our owners along with our friend Ron Beers (who is currently at Tyndale House). Maybe you didn’t know that some of Zondervan’s bestselling Bibles (True Identity, True Images) were conceived by our team. Sticky Situations (a book we proposed and wrote for Tyndale House, volume 1 published in 1997 and still selling) has passed 100,000 copies sold. Another book 500 Questions & Answers from the Bible (Barbour, 2006) has already sold almost 94,000 copies after just six months.

Maybe you didn’t know that Livingstone products have won 11 Gold Medallion awards and been Gold Medallion finalists over 30 times?

In short, we can deliver what you need, when you need it, with top-notch quality. And we’ve got the ideas for you!

We don’t want you staying awake at night worrying about how to get your lineup filled and ready to roll. We are committed to getting God’s message out in a variety of forms and have worked on hundreds of Bibles, devotional products, study guides, trade books, curriculum, and reference products to help make that happen.

You won’t find our names on the covers. Like you, we help get the ideas out there and then quietly retreat to our desks while authors and publishers enjoy the credit.

And that’s why we love you!

Watch for a special e-mail from Christopher Ribaudo with some ideas for Christmas books—books we’ve conceived, books we can deliver from start to finish (some even this year if you’re really desperate!).

Ideas to Marketplace. That’s us. We’re here to help. Give us a call or drop an e-mail. We love to hear from you.

Love,
The Livingstone Team

Linda Taylor
Editorial Director at The Livingstone Corporation.