What is it in the indomitable spirit of man that we can take a truly bad day and decide to turn it around?  It is not what we’ve dreamed it to be, but a man or woman filled with true joy can make the best in the worst of circumstances.  What makes people go on through circumstances that would defeat most?  Why is it the same people who end up making it through difficulty after difficulty, whilst others choose to quit at some point determining the road too tough to navigate or task to arduous to complete?  What is it in the spirit of a man/woman that makes them the leaders in every environment?  What is this “will to live” which is the basis for the bulk of American novels, that overcoming spirit endemic to the desire to discover, succeed and outlast any obstacle?  Is there a commonality between these people and if so what is the tie which binds them?

What makes people “go on” through the dark of night, the horrors of battle and the quest to establish new lands?  Do people with the indomitable capacity possess hope that guides them passed potential defeatism or is hope somehow granted them because of learned and difficult empirical circumstance?  What about those who succumb the world through tyranny, coveting all lands before them,  persecuting everyone whom stands in their path to conquest?  Is theirs an equal hope, although born of desire to control?  Is victory through conquest the same indomitable spirit that indwells those that stand in the face of certain defeat, proclaiming victory?  What of those who have been used by God throughout history to shape borders, nations and outcomes, having been blessed simply by the Plan of God?

Perhaps the difference is the origin of their desire to overcome and their fulfillment when the obstacles were dissolved.  Alexander the Great was grand reflection of this concept as he notably wept when there were no more lands to conquer.  He had historically defeated every known enemy to the point where there was literally no one left to fight against.  Conversely, for those who overcome arguably insurmountable obstacles there is nothing left but residual joy beyond that moment of victory.  Perhaps they will miss the struggle in some sense, as many have done, because it brought out their greatest energy, but it is not the same remorse felt by those who have conquered everyone in their path through covetousness.  Points for reflection, at the age of thirty-three, Alexander the Great apparently died of swamp fever near Baghdad attempting to reconstruct the historic tower of Babel in fabled Babylon, modern day Iraq.  Perhaps having no more men to battle against he turned his sights upon God, foolishly believing himself adequate to such conquest?  I doubt he was filled with joy as his health and life languished at the hand of an unseen feverish enemy.

Do you know of anyone who is filled with joy even in their worst moments on this planet?  Perhaps you will spend some time and inquire as to their reasoning.  What buoys the spirit in the face of tragedy, causing some to overcome and others to give up?  For me it has always been Christ.  Certainly I have possessed a unique capacity to find that reserve energy/capacity to rise above circumstance and taste victory, but before Christ the victories were always shallow, empty and purposeless.  When I felt His indwelling Spirit I knew that there was a reason for me to overcome, His Plan for my life and for humanity.  I knew for good that my continued struggle for something beyond my own desire for conquest and that my previous competitive war with humanity and with God was over.  My joy was completed by Christ’s acceptance, forgiveness and faithfulness.  The reason for my joy is Christ and the purpose of my joy is my fellow man, to encourage, support, love and point them toward Christ.  Hope is not the thing that allows me conquer this world my hope is “He” who has already conquered this world.

Praise God for everlasting Joy, found only in Christ Jesus.