The Secret to True, Lasting Joy: Hebrews 12:2

The Secret Of True Lasting Joy Is Not To Seek Joy For Yourself But For Others.

00:00 Esther – a joyful servant
2:56 “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”
4:43 Faith that Doesn’t Give up on People
5:52 Activation:  Find True, Lasting Joy by Seeking Joy For Others

She was almost 80 when I met her, an ordinary-looking woman, but she had such joy I did a double take. Her name was Esther. 

She had been crippled, walking with a walker for over 10 years when God supernaturally healed her as my pastor prayed for her. She came to know him as few of us do.

I came to know Esther well as she, our friend Gladys, Karen (my wife) and I went door to door in our small town and offered to pray for the people who lived in every home. We went every week until we had covered every street in our town. It took months. 

Esther as she listened to people with rapt attention. She connected with them. People opened up to Esther. They could tell she really cared. 

Esther prayed from intimacy with the Father. She and God  approached God as a much-loved daughter would approach her Dad, knowing he wanted to give her what she needed. She just talked to Him. It was so real and so personal. Her prayers made God real to those she prayed for. 

Karen and I moved to South Florida shortly after that. The next time we saw Esther, she was in a nursing home. We had talked a few times on the phone. She was always upbeat, but we were concerned about her. We shouldn’t have been.

Upon arriving at the nursing home, Esther had rolled up her sleeves and gotten involved. She helped with social activities. She visited people who never had visitors. And she prayed, oh she prayed for the residents of that home. She prayed for their souls. She prayed for healing. She prayed for whatever people needed.

Esther moved into that nursing home not as just another resident, but as a servant of God sent there to bless the people in that home. And she blessed them as her servant heart. We saw it firsthand. We asked and Esther told us stories of what God was doing in the home. And we praised God together.

Esther had health problems, but she didn’t want to talk about those. They weren't on her radar. She was wrapped up in the lives of her family and her new friends at the home.

I believe some of greatest people in heaven will be some of the most humble people here on earth.

The best definition of humility I've heard is:  “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” Rick Warren

C. S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, described true humility:

“Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. … you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”

Lewis just described Esther' life. Humble, cheerful and enjoying life so easily. Can you imagine going to a nursing home and visiting an old friend, only to find out she had more joy than you did? We didn’t need to worry about Esther. We needed what she had.

Esther had discovered that The Secret Of True Lasting Joy Is Not To Seek Joy For Yourself But For Others.

Matthew 23:11-12 AMP says:
But the greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honor.

The key to Esther's life, her consummate joy, was a servant heart. She was one of few people I've met who truly didn't live for herself; she found joy in living for others.