The Joy Set Before Him

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." -Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)

Jesus alone is who we need to be looking to for our understanding of what true joy and peace is and can be in our lives. We must know that this life is not always perfect and a lot of times doesn't turn out the way we think it should, especially if we are following Jesus at all costs. A lot of times we get trapped into this mentality that if we are "following" Jesus and living the "right" life as we think we should, then everything turns out hunky dory.
Obviously, we know that this is not always the case, most times its not. Often times we are led to places where God wants to meet us and these are places that we may not be comfortable going to. The cross of Christ always bids us to come and die, die to our self and all our desires of our flesh, that we might truly live in Christ. Philippians 1:21 "to live is Christ, to die is gain" are the words of Paul, a man who got it, he understood what it meant to truly live and to have Joy and Peace in any and every circumstance which he found himself. Which a lot of times were situations none of us would want to be in (see II Cor. 11), he was often whipped, beaten, tortured, in prison, ship wreck, homeless, you name it, Paul went through it and ultimately leading to his death.
Why would anyone willingly go through all of that, just as Jesus did as he set the example for all of us. Why suffer? Why lose everything? Why give of yourselves wholly to others with no reservations? Why? I believe that the answer to these questions of "why" point us directly to the cross. Until we understand how to die on that cross, until we understand what it means to lose our lives, so that we may gain life in Christ, we will continue down that same old path of familiarity that tells us to just settle, that its time to just grow up and be responsible, make sensible decisions, that you have everything in this life that you need, continue to be a good steward of what you have.
The problem is, is that road leads us to a place of emptiness and unfulfillment, a false joy, a false hope that never really satisfies. On the other hand, there is another road where true joy, everlasting joy and peace is set before us and is now at hand for those who dare journey down it. However I must warn you that it WILL COST you something, it will cost you your life, your desires, your dreams. You may even have to go through things that are not pleasant, things that at the time are not fun at all, however God will meet you in those situations, he wants to grow you and mature you in your faith and trust in him. Rom. 8 talks about being conformed into the image and likeness of Christ Jesus, Hebrews mentions that God disciplines those he loves, God loves us enough to never leave us where we are at. He consistently calls us to die daily to our lives and to follow him, as Jesus' words, "pick up your cross and follow me". When we do this and are faithful to what God is calling us to, whatever that maybe, he is more than enough for us, to sustains us and to produce within us all the good fruit of his Holy Spirit. And once we become obedient over the long haul and have an understanding that this life is not my own, then his Joy and Peace come upon us and we begin to experience life to the fullest as Jesus promised, and the Joy that was set before Him is now set before us as we learn to follow Him. Christ Alone.