Tag: Joy

Encouragement

 

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”

”Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!”

Psalms 69:3o   I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

Psalms 40:3    He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

Psalms 118:21   I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

Psalms 118:28  You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalms 25:9   He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

Psalms 34:2    My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.

Isaiah 61:1-3   to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

John 16:22   So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

In place of sorrow there will be rejoicing.  Sometimes I do not understand the affliction and trials others bear and how they seem to rise above them and give God praise.  It is inspiring to see those who bear the affliction and those who love them walk in a way that does not complain but rather continues to seek God and His love and mercy.  It is inspiring to see them quote promises of God and hold fast to Him.  It is encouraging to see their faith in action – God is able but even if He chooses not to act in this matter we hold fast to Him.  Holding on and trusting God is possible when our walk with Him is lived out and His word is in our heart. Seek Him today and hold fast to His promises. He is certainly able to do more than we ask and much more than we can think.

God our Heavenly Father

“ O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.  There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.  These all look to you, to give them their food in due season.  When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.”

Psalms 65:12  The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Psalms 104:10  You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills;  they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.  Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.  From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

Job 38:28  “Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven? The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children?  Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth? “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’?

Isaiah 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,  so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.  “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Isaiah 61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

Acts 14:17    Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

How many times do you hear  someone reference “Mother Nature” in the course of a year concerning weather?  I hear “Mother Nature sure has been good to us” and “Mother Nature sure seems to be angry” or a host of other references to her without thought of God.  It is common to not hear reference God in things of nature.   It is also common to not hear reference to God in things of everyday life which shows the condition of man’s heart.  How many times have you heard someone talking about God outside of church or home?  God is not to be set aside for special occasions or needs.  He is to be praised, honored, worshipped, obeyed, glorified, and set in a place of awe and reverence in our heart and mind continually.   God is our heavenly Father and creator of all there is.  What kind of children neglect their father or pay no attention to his council and wisdom?  What kind of children allow life to get so busy that they consider their father only on fathers day and their birthday?  What kind of love would you say these children have for their father?  Wouldn’t you say they were ungrateful, negligent, self-seeking, and just plain bad children.  How much more BAD is it for us to neglect God in our everyday life?  Commit to spend time in His word.  Seek to know and love, honor and obey Him more.  Keep Him alive in your heart, mind and soul.  Praise Him!!!

Fortress of Faith

“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.”

“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

“I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.  Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.”

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,”

Psalms 59:16  But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalms 21:13   Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.

Psalms 106:8   Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power.

Psalms 145:11   They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power,

Exodus 15:6    Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

Psalms 31:7    I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul,

Psalms 86:13    For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

Psalms 89:1    I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

Psalms 30:5    For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalms 61:2  from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,  for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.

2 Corinthians 1:10     He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

Psalms 77:2    In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.

Psalms 138:7   Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.

These verses just lift your soul don’t they?  It is very easy to be overcome with the trouble at hand.  Even if we have a relationship with God it seems the only way to know how strong our faith is, is when we have exhausted all of our personal power and strength, and have no where else to turn.  Things outside of our control can and do affect us.  Try as hard as we can we simply do not have power to control much of it.  However God has control of it all.  He has a purpose and plan for each of us.  His plan never fails.  His plan and purpose is perfect.  He can do all things.  And above all of this He loves us and will lead us.  It is easy to say all of this but in the time of trouble our heart and mind find it hard to let go and say “God is in control and I am content”.  These times will show the weakness of the fortress of our faith.  This is life and our walk with God.  Precept upon precept, line upon line, we grow in our faith, understanding, and knowledge of God.  Peter put it this way: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.” We all have room to grow – let it start with praise and commitment to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey God.

Clean Heart

“Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”?

Psalms 51:7  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Isaiah 1:18   “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

1 John 1:7   But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Hebrews 9:13  For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,  how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Ezekiel 11:19   And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

2 Corinthians 5:17   Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Ephesians 2:10    For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Colossians 3:10    and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Ephesians 4:22  to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,  and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness

What does it mean to be cleansed from sin? Why is this important to be cleansed from sin?  Sin is doing what is wrong or not doing what is right according to God’s rules.  Not knowing these rules or laws or commandments or warnings or promises does not eliminate the wrong being done in our lives.  Neglecting God’s word, lack of desire for His word, and no interest listening for His leading, no deep want to please God are not good indicators of a person who (through no work of their own has been cleansed from all the wrongs they have ever done) desires to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey God.  A person who knows their sin is like scarlet and wants to be made right before God, has a different heart.  In their heart, mind, and soul they have chosen their course in this life to be God honoring. Their heart and mind are not clouded over with cultural concept of sin, doing right, doing wrong as  means to be made right before God.  They absolutely know their is nothing (works) they can do to be made right in God’s eyes because it can not be earned.  They know it is by faith in the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross. Their life  is fueled by God’s word, and desire to serve, honor, follow and obey Hm. Choose to hear His voice.  Choose to obey it.  Choose to humbly serve Him each day over self.  Choose to read His word.  Choose to give.  Choose to be kind.  Choose to have patience.  Choose to …… for the single purpose of honoring God in your life.

Counted as Loss

d“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith”

Psalms 40:16  But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the LORD!” As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

Isaiah 65:13  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame;  behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit.

Psalms 22:26   The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!

Psalms 35:27   Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”

Psalms 68:3   But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!

Psalms 119:166  I hope for your salvation, O LORD, and I do your commandments.  My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly.

Psalms 105:3    Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!

Psalms 119:111    Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

Luke 14:33   So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Matthew 16:26   For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

I wonder if some of the lack of joy in our life comes from the fact we do not forsake all we have in this world.  Are we attached to things this world has to offer and missing out in having gladness and joy in our heart that comes from a closeness to God, a dependency on Him, and eyes of our heart, soul and mind focused on humbly serving Him in the short time we have this side of eternity.  Attachment to things this world has to offer is to believe the lie “it will satisfy”.  It is always very short in delivering satisfaction and is very good at sugar coating this false promise.  True  and lasting joy can only be found in God, humbly serving, willingly obeying, and always seeking Him.  What does it profit man to gain the world and lose their soul?

 

Open Ear Warnings

“then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings,”

Psalms 40:6  In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

Psalms 51:16   For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

1 Samuel 15:22    And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

Isaiah 1:11   “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

Jeremiah 7:21  Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh.  For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.  But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Hosea 6:6    For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Matthew 9:13   Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 12:7   And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.

Hebrews 10:5  Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;  in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.  Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”  When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law),  then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.  And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

John 7:15  The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”  So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.  If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

Isaiah 50:4  The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.  The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward.

Proverbs 15:23    To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!

God opens the ear of man and terrifies them with warnings!  He does this so that we freely choose to listen, follow, and obey Him.  How many times are we trying to make ourself right before God but in the end it is only right in our own eyes.  God wants willful obedience from us, not our attempts to cover up or atone for the things we are doing in disregard of Him.  Why is it so hard to deny self and live for Him?  We choose to open His word and read it.  We choose to stay close to Him.  We choose to listen to His leading.  We choose to follow His path and purpose for our life.  We choose to serve Him.  We choose to obey Him.  We choose to honor and glorify Him.  What choice are you making today?

Stronghold in time of Trouble

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Psalms 37:39  The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Psalms 3:8    Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!

Romans 10:13  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Jeremiah 33:3   Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Jonah 2:9   But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

Isaiah 12:2   “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

Ephesians 2:8   For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

2 Timothy 4:17   But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

Colossians 1:11   being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

2 Corinthians 1:9  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again

Isaiah 33:2   O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.

Psalms 9:9   The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

How many times do we face trouble and fall into the trap of worry, fret, impatience, and unrest?  It is easy isn’t it.  God can be our refuge, strength, hope, joy, peace, rest and power if we but go to Him and leave it in His all powerful hands.  I recently faced a couple of issues that were eating at me and for over two weeks I kept them to myself and did not leave them or even take them to my heavenly Father.  Those two weeks were filled with anxiousness, worry, and with out hope yet my first inclination was to try to handle this myself.  Every attempt failed and fueled the worry and anxiousness.  Then laying on my pillow I asked for His help.  Amazing both of these issues came with resolution.  I should not be amazed though should I.  God is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.  I should not look with amazement but rather with trust and know without doubt that God is sovereign and in control and will handle this in His time with His purpose.

Worship and Praise

Psalms 35:27  Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.

Jeremiah 32:40  I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.  I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

Zephaniah 3:17   The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Psalms 149:4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

Romans 12:15   Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

John 16:22   So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Psalms 70:4   May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

Psalms 68:3  But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!

1 Peter 3:4  but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

Proverbs 11:20   Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those of blameless ways are his delight.

Psalms 117:2   For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!

Psalms 90:17    Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

We get to make a choice on being joyful, glad, humble, praising and delighting in God.  I read this comment on what seems to be a reality in may lives: “instead of praise and worship there is constant murmuring and complaining which are prevalent among God’s children!”  We have a choice to worship and praise no matter what circumstance we find ourself in.  No matter what trial or burden our God is the same.  He is our heavenly Father who has the perfect purpose and plan for each of our lives.  We can rejoice in this no matter what comes our way.  We can praise Him knowing that He is our comfort, rock, strength and place of rest.  I have no idea why some seem to be be given great burdens to carry for extended periods of time.  Likewise I don’t understand why others are blessed without.  It is our place to know God is sovereign and in control, worthy of praise and worship forever.  Turn complaints to praise and worries to joy.  I am sure you will see the hand of God much clearer and His presence much closer.

Rejoice & Praise

“But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!”

Psalms 35:9  Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his salvation. All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

Psalms 35:27  Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.

Psalms 13:5   But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

Psalms 21:1  O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!

Psalms 33:21  For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

Isaiah 61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness

Habakkuk 3:18  yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Luke 1:46-47   And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

Galatians 5:22   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Job 5:15-16  But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty.  So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.

Psalms 140:12  I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy.

“My soul will rejoice”, “my soul will magnify”,  “my spirit rejoices”, “I will take joy”, “our heart is glad”, “Praise all the day long”, “shout for joy”, “be glad”, and “jubilant with joy”, are all outcomes of relying on God, serving Him, humbly waiting for His timing, trusting in Him, and clinging to His power, might, strength, steadfast love, mercy, and grace.  I was recently speaking with a godly man who had every reason to be upset about a situation he faced that could have easily ended his life if he had blindly followed instruction from a trusted professional.  When I spoke with him last Thursday he was very upset and could not believe what  could have happened had he not had previous training and understanding and the ability to know this course of action was seriously wrong.  Today his whole mindset was changed.  He was thankful, rejoicing, and praising God.  Why?  Because he realized that God had prepared him long ago for this very incident and kept him from making a fatal decision.  I think this is how we need to look at those issues that pop up in our lives.  What is God trying to show us?  What is He telling our heart?  God is ever present in our walk and it is good for us to take on a heart that rejoices, praises, and lives in joy knowing our God is in full control.

Joy or Gloom

” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. “

Psalms 32:8  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Psalms 33:18  Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,

Proverbs 3:1   My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

Proverbs 8:10  Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold,  for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

Matthew 11:29   Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Proverbs 26:3  A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.

Jeremiah 4:22   “For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.”

Jeremiah 8:6  I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle.  Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the LORD.

“My people are foolish”, “they have not spoke rightly”, “everyone turns to his own course”, “they have no understanding”, “they do not know Me”. How many are the paths people will follow to find peace, joy, and rest for their souls following blindly and headlong on a straight path to hell?  God is not blind to the actions and thoughts of man.  Nothing is hidden from Him and rather than humbly submit, follow and obey Him they pick their own course.  This course is one with temporary satisfaction at best but does not satisfy deep into the heart.  Turn to God and He will instruct and teach you.  His gentle guiding will give rest to your soul. He will set your feet on solid ground and make life fulfilling.