Francis Chan’s Daily Fight for Joy
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:02.580 | - We are blessed to be joined this week
00:00:06.840 | on the Ask Pastor John podcast by a guest and our friend,
00:00:10.160 | Francis Chan, who joins us from San Francisco.
00:00:13.280 | Francis and his wife Lisa are the authors of the new book,
00:00:16.320 | You and Me Forever, Marriage in Light of Eternity.
00:00:19.920 | And we will get to marriage questions soon enough,
00:00:22.400 | but first I wanna ask you, Francis,
00:00:23.900 | about your fight for joy in Christ every day.
00:00:26.960 | Is this a struggle for you?
00:00:29.040 | Does Francis Chan fight for joy in Christ?
00:00:33.200 | - Yes, absolutely.
00:00:34.600 | I have to fight for joy every day.
00:00:37.580 | For me, it's a real fight for my mind.
00:00:42.120 | Lately, the battle has been multitasking, okay?
00:00:47.120 | Because I love to accomplish.
00:00:49.880 | I love to get a lot of things done in one day.
00:00:52.760 | And I'm like, man, why do one thing when you can do three?
00:00:57.080 | So you're just going and it's all for the kingdom
00:01:00.000 | and everything, but then it comes time to pray.
00:01:03.520 | And this is where multitasking can kill you,
00:01:06.640 | is your mind is used to doing several things at once.
00:01:10.160 | And if you're trying to do three things at once,
00:01:14.320 | you really can't worship him wholeheartedly.
00:01:18.320 | First Peter 4, seven talks about being clear minded
00:01:22.640 | for the purpose of prayer,
00:01:24.760 | and to be self-controlled and sober minded, clear minded.
00:01:28.600 | And my fight is those times where I just wanna get away
00:01:33.600 | from everything and to rejoice in the Lord.
00:01:37.560 | I mean, genuinely, just to come into the presence of God
00:01:40.840 | and not have my mind wander.
00:01:42.440 | So sometimes I'm pacing, sometimes I'm praying out loud,
00:01:46.900 | sometimes I'm singing out loud,
00:01:48.920 | sometimes I'm on my knees,
00:01:50.600 | sometimes doing all three or four of those things
00:01:53.600 | just so that my mind doesn't switch to something else.
00:01:57.280 | I'm just 100% focused on God,
00:02:00.160 | thanking him for everything I have in Christ.
00:02:02.800 | I mean, life is good.
00:02:04.760 | Our existence is good, we're so blessed.
00:02:07.960 | But to focus on that and to really rejoice in that,
00:02:12.400 | gosh, it's a real fight.
00:02:15.520 | To the point where I just, a few weeks ago,
00:02:19.200 | because we've got like a dozen people living in our house
00:02:21.840 | and it's not a big house, so the noise factor
00:02:25.320 | along with technology, everything else,
00:02:28.440 | I just ended up building a little room in my garage,
00:02:32.800 | tiny rooms, more like a closet or something,
00:02:35.920 | just so that I can escape and get alone and worship him
00:02:40.920 | and thank him and tell him how great it is to know him
00:02:45.600 | and restore that joy in my life.
00:02:48.560 | I don't know how other people get charged up,
00:02:51.280 | but for me, it's really coming in the presence of God
00:02:54.680 | and enjoying him.
00:02:56.400 | That's the type of joy that lasts.
00:02:58.680 | Like if I can get that time
00:03:00.200 | and really be focused in the morning,
00:03:02.400 | it really does just go throughout the whole day.
00:03:05.600 | - That's very good and comforting for all of us
00:03:08.720 | in the battle for joy in God.
00:03:10.480 | That's Francis Chan, co-author of a new book
00:03:12.320 | with his wife Lisa titled You and Me Forever,
00:03:15.140 | Marriage in Light of Eternity.
00:03:16.760 | And tomorrow I wanna ask you about a few lines
00:03:19.300 | from your book, especially this one, quote,
00:03:21.440 | "If you'd rather watch your kids grow up
00:03:23.920 | than see the face of your savior today,
00:03:26.600 | you don't grasp the beauty of God," end quote.
00:03:30.920 | Wow, that's got some Philippians 1, 21 punch to it.
00:03:35.120 | I'm your host Tony Reinke, we'll be back tomorrow.
00:03:37.480 | (upbeat music)
00:03:40.060 | (upbeat music)
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