Joy in the Morningfeatured

“…Weeping can stay for the night. But joy comes in the morning.”  Psalm 30:5

“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.”  Psalm 16:11

 So, I am sure that we all wake every morning just overflowing with joy!   Mmmm, maybe not.  The reality of our lives is that often we wake up with fear or anxiety racing in our brain, or with pain of some kind; physical, emotional, relational, etc.  Our circumstances often don’t just scream joy at us when we open our eyes in the morning.  Sometimes the morning starts off well but somehow, we lose the joy as the day progresses and we find out selves sad or angry.  God’s Word promises us joy, but how do we get there?

Our priorities might be the key. Deuteronomy 6: 5 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  Loving God with all my heart, soul, and strength involves trusting that He loves me enough to want what is best for me.  Out of that trust, my love for Him inspires me to obedience and thanksgiving and generosity.  That would be in a perfect world, where I love Him 100% of the time with 100% of my heart, soul, and strength. 

Clearly, I won’t reach that level of perfection until I am in my heavenly home, but Psalm 16:11 (above) promises that in this life He will fill us with joy in His presence.  The key phrase is “in His presence.”  Now, He is present with me (and you) every second of every day, but am I present with Him?  Is my focus on pleasing Him or on pleasing me?   

I find that if I am not loving God with all my heart, it is because I am busy worshiping another “diety.”  A while back I heard a sermon (can’t remember the name of the preacher or I would give credit) where the speaker said that if we aren’t worshipping God with our all, we are usually worshipping the “unholy trinity”:  me, myself, and I.

I actually started out this morning feeling pretty joyous.  Then I started working on this devotional and it just wasn’t flowing.  I had to leave it for a while to go get my annual mammogram (not my favorite outing!).  After a much longer wait and more painful procedure than usual, I headed to the grocery store to pick up a couple of items.  The store was in the midst of a total reorganization, which meant I didn’t know where to look for things.  When I finally located a couple of my items, the were out of stock.  I then found myself totally irritated and out-of-sorts over this “conspiracy” to make my life miserable!

It is really ironic, because we (or Satan) fool ourselves into thinking that what we want will meet our needs and will satisfy us and bring us joy.  Any satisfaction we get is short lived and the unholy trinity’s appetite is voracious and our self-centered wants grow and grow.  When things don’t go our way, irritation and disappointment grow into anger and bitterness. 

There is no joy in the presence of the unholy trinity!  I wanted a stress-free, easy afternoon, but maybe God wanted me to experience joy by seeking Him in the midst of the delays and frustrations.  Perhaps there was someone that He wanted me to say a kind word to or to assist someone trying to navigate through the grocery store.  I think I would have found joy in those, but I was too wrapped up in my self-centered irritation.

God alone is the source of our joy and it is available morning, noon and night. Only He can provide joy in the midst of sorrow, pain and less than ideal circumstances.  He is already with us.  We just have to choose Him over ourselves.   Hard to do, but His Spirit is ready, willing and able to assist.  We just have to ask.

Note:  I will be on vacation for a couple of weeks, so I’ll be back in touch towards the end of August.  Blessings to you all!  Sharon

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