DELIGHTFUL DAY

“The Lord also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.”  (Psalm 18:19 NKJV)

Following a winter blizzard touted as the “storm of the century,” my bassets decide to do “snow angels” in the snowbank called my front yard. Though their backs were just about even with the top of it, they bounced atop the white stuff and ploughed on, leaving leg and belly marks.

I admit I laughed, though I also kept an eye on them to be sure they were safe. It was really rather fun to see them enjoying themselves and taking on a new challenge. They’d never seen this much snow.

Somewhat like a pet owner who gets a lot of enjoyment from the animal’s antics, I imagine God delights in watching us take on new things, enjoy the world He’s created for us, and learn more of Him. He didn’t create us to become our taskmaster, but because He wanted to share things with us noy only in eternity, but here on earth, too. Though Scripture contains many serious warnings and guidelines, there are frequent indications of the joy He has in His creation, and part of that creation is us.

So while we’re trying to do the right thing and follow His way intently, let’s not forget that we can also simply rejoice in the God who saved us. He delivered us because He delighted in us, and He wants us to delight in Him, too.

Make this a truly delightful day as you worship the Savior who loves you in so many ways. Remember, He wants to share the fun with you, too. 

-- Pamela McQuade, from “Daily Wisdom to Satisfy the Soul,” published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.

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JOY WILL REIGN

How is it possible to become a joyful person in a pain-filled world? Look at the promise that comes right near the very end of the Bible:

"Let us rejoice and exult
and give Him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His bride has made herself ready." (Revelation 19:7)

Heaven's groom gets the bride.

The joy that is in store for God's people is so great that the only image that can do it justice is the joy between a lover and his beloved. Then we will see the wedding of which the greatest weddings on this earth have only been a dim foreshadowing.

Then God will dance with His people. Then joy will reign undiminished and uninterrupted.

-- John Ortberg in “The Life You've Always Wanted”

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THE BEST THING ABOUT HEAVEN

What is the best thing about heaven? The best thing is not that we will again see our loved ones who die in the Lord, although that will be wonderful. The best thing is not that we will have resurrection bodies, though many of us can hardly wait for that. Nor is the best thing that the earth will be restored.

So what could be better than all these wonderful things? The very best thing about heaven is that we will be united with the Lord Himself, who is our life and joy. All the joys of this heaven and earth -- and the next heaven and earth -- wonderful as they are, are secondary joys. They pale in comparison to the joys of knowing the triune God who is our chief joy.

In Psalm 16:2, David is right when he says, “I say to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.’” In fact, the joys of those will increase who run after the one true God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Those joys will be multiplied in heaven. Our hearts have capacities for joy that have not yet been tapped. But heaven will reveal how great and deep and lasting are the joys to be found in God alone.

Perhaps that is why the psalmist ends Psalm 16 with the words, “You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (vs 11). Eternal joy and lasting pleasures found in Him -- that is the best thing about heaven. 

-- Adapted from “How to Finish the Christian Life: Following Jesus in the Second Half” by Donald W. Sweeting & George Sweeting

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AN INEXPRESSIBLE AND GLORIOUS JOY

Everyone is looking for joy. Marketing companies know this. Every commercial [and internet ad] promises the same product: joy. Want some joy? Buy our hand cream. Want some joy? Sleep on this mattress. Want some joy? Eat at this restaurant, drive this car, wear this dress…

Joy. Everyone wants it. Everyone promises it. But can anyone deliver it? It might surprise you to know that joy is a big topic in the Bible. Simply put: God wants His children to be joy-filled. Just like a father wants his baby to laugh with glee, God longs for us to experience a deep-seated, deeply rooted joy.

The joy offered by God is different than the one promised at the car dealership or shopping mall. God is not interested in putting a temporary smile on your face. He wants to deposit a resilient hope in your heart. He has no interest in giving you a shallow happiness that melts in the heat of adversity. But he does offer you a joy: a deep-seated, heart-felt, honest-to-goodness, ballistic strong sense of joy that can weather the most difficult of storms.    

Peter referred to this joy in the opening words of his epistle: “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (I Peter 1:8-9) 

-- Max Lucado

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JOY IN CHRIST

The Apostle Paul reminds us that joy is at the center of the Christian's life… Writing from a Roman prison, a difficult circumstance that would cause most people to lose hope, Paul writes to the Christians in the church in Philippi, "REJOICE in the Lord always. I shall say it again: REJOICE!" (Philippians 4:4) Roman prisons were dark, dank places of death. Most prisoners died there. Yet, Paul found joy in his imprisonment.

In fact, in a letter from prison to the Philippians, rather than writing of his suffering and worries, Paul mentions his "joy in Christ" more than twelve times in just four chapters. That is worth hearing: Even in the most difficult times in your life, you can rely upon the deep, abiding joy that comes from Jesus Christ. The world and your circumstances may press in and seek to crush you, but a relationship with Jesus will grow a joy in you that cannot be squelched. 

-- Allen R. Hunt in “Nine Words”

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DIVINE JOY

Joy is just what Jesus intends for you. It is His goal that joy will be a vital part of your life. Hear His words: “I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) Jesus comes to bring you the joy of God. Becoming the-best-version-of-yourself may involve some struggle and pain, but it will most certainly be defined by joy. Why? Because you are doing exactly what the Lord of the Universe intends for you. Better still, He introduces you to the Holy Spirit, who completes you and makes you whole on the journey. Knowing God the Father, God the Son in Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit completes you with divine joy. This is why you are here. To be in relationship with the One who made you, He who loves you, and He who will sustain you to the very end and beyond. The world may offer brief moments of happiness here and there, but it cannot offer deep, real joy… Jesus Joy is eternal and powerful. 

-- Allen R. Hunt in “Nine Words”

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