(upbeat music) - We are blessed to be joined this week on the Ask Pastor John podcast by a guest and our friend, Francis Chan, who joins us from San Francisco. Francis and his wife Lisa are the authors of the new book, You and Me Forever, Marriage in Light of Eternity.

And we will get to marriage questions soon enough, but first I wanna ask you, Francis, about your fight for joy in Christ every day. Is this a struggle for you? Does Francis Chan fight for joy in Christ? - Yes, absolutely. I have to fight for joy every day. For me, it's a real fight for my mind.

Lately, the battle has been multitasking, okay? Because I love to accomplish. I love to get a lot of things done in one day. And I'm like, man, why do one thing when you can do three? So you're just going and it's all for the kingdom and everything, but then it comes time to pray.

And this is where multitasking can kill you, is your mind is used to doing several things at once. And if you're trying to do three things at once, you really can't worship him wholeheartedly. First Peter 4, seven talks about being clear minded for the purpose of prayer, and to be self-controlled and sober minded, clear minded.

And my fight is those times where I just wanna get away from everything and to rejoice in the Lord. I mean, genuinely, just to come into the presence of God and not have my mind wander. So sometimes I'm pacing, sometimes I'm praying out loud, sometimes I'm singing out loud, sometimes I'm on my knees, sometimes doing all three or four of those things just so that my mind doesn't switch to something else.

I'm just 100% focused on God, thanking him for everything I have in Christ. I mean, life is good. Our existence is good, we're so blessed. But to focus on that and to really rejoice in that, gosh, it's a real fight. To the point where I just, a few weeks ago, because we've got like a dozen people living in our house and it's not a big house, so the noise factor along with technology, everything else, I just ended up building a little room in my garage, tiny rooms, more like a closet or something, just so that I can escape and get alone and worship him and thank him and tell him how great it is to know him and restore that joy in my life.

I don't know how other people get charged up, but for me, it's really coming in the presence of God and enjoying him. That's the type of joy that lasts. Like if I can get that time and really be focused in the morning, it really does just go throughout the whole day.

- That's very good and comforting for all of us in the battle for joy in God. That's Francis Chan, co-author of a new book with his wife Lisa titled You and Me Forever, Marriage in Light of Eternity. And tomorrow I wanna ask you about a few lines from your book, especially this one, quote, "If you'd rather watch your kids grow up than see the face of your savior today, you don't grasp the beauty of God," end quote.

Wow, that's got some Philippians 1, 21 punch to it. I'm your host Tony Reinke, we'll be back tomorrow. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)