Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Psalm 32:11
Sometimes joy seems like an elusive sensation, even in the midst of a beautiful summer day. Why is that? For each of us the reasons vary. It can depend on the burdens that we’re currently carrying. Often we feel that no matter how hard we try to live joyful lives, the world around us always pops the bubble of our happiness. And for some of us, past history or behavior patterns tend to make us drift toward a negative, even gloomy way of thinking.
The good news is that God can help us overcome these very real forces that we deal with, day-in and day-out. In John 10:10 we find an awesome insight into the Lord’s plans for us: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus didn’t hide the fact that we would experience problems in our lives. Actually, He describes the existence of our enemy, Satan, who like a thief wants to harm us-including robbing us of the joy we can experience throughout life’s journey. Yet I’d like you to concentrate on the second half of that verse: the Lord wants us to experience a full, satisfying life!
Notice Jesus didn’t say “One day in Heaven you’ll get to have a great life.” That will happen for all who believe in Him, but He also promises an amazingly abundant life that starts in the here and now.
I spent the last several years studying the topic of joy, partly because I found myself drifting back into some patterns of sadness that I’d experienced in my past. Through my research and time in Scripture, the Lord helped me find His path toward a more joyful life. I wrote about this personal journey in my recent book, I Choose Joy! I also discuss some of the 300-plus verses where God specifically entourages everyone to enjoy the life He has given them. This new journey with the Lord has dramatically changed the way I look at circumstances, other people, and my purpose here on Earth. I’m convinced that no matter what your current situation may be, God can help you discover a more joy-filled, satisfying life too.
Summer seems like a perfect time to focus on something positive, so why not work on adding more joy to your life? I’d urge you to spend time each day reading the Bible, especially looking for many of the passages that talk about joyful living. If you’d like a copy of I Choose Joy! for yourself or someone you care about, please check out our Sonkist Resources section. It can also be found at Amazon in print and Kindle form.
Most of all, as we are reminded in Psalm 32:11, joy is a choice. Your choice. My choice. So, let’s rejoice and be glad in the Lord-and choose joy this summer!
Thought for the Summer
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Keep your servant also from willful sins;may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:13-14
I have a confession to make: I just stopped recording a television program-and it was painful! Painful because I really didn’t want to do it. Painful because I enjoyed the cast, the writing, and having something mindless to watch each week. I spent days agonizing over what should have been an easy process, even coming up with a list of reasons why I deserved to watch this show.
The bottom line, however, was the program was spiritual garbage for me, and I knew it. Even though it involved storybook characters and a “good versus evil” theme (can you figure out which show it was yet?), it wasn’t really adding value to my life. And, when I took a closer, more honest look, the light versus dark aspect of the program was growing greyer week by week.
These are times when verses like the ones above help in making decisions about so many aspects of life. The author, King David, began this psalm by praising God, and then he explained the blessings of being guided by His Word:
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
(verse 8)
The Lord’s ways are good, right, and pure. As we try to live by His guidelines, we will see things differently-His way. When we seek to really be like the Lord, we’ll have the same cry as David: “Keep your servant also from willful sins.” And, most of all, we’ll want to speak, think, and act in ways that please Him and give Him glory-all the time.
In order to live in this manner, we need to get rid of anything that’s basically rubbish. Remember the old adage:garbage in, garbage out? It’s all too true. If we’re filling our eyes, ears, and minds with less-than-worthy things, then what’s likely to fill our thoughts and impact our actions?
Last month, I realized I had some garbage that needed to go. And after a few withdrawal pains from my former favorite program, I’m surprisingly okay. I’ve actually been able to read the books I never seemed to have time for before!
How about you? What “garbage” would you like to clear out today? Maybe it’s a magazine you wish you hadn’t bought, or a video game you realize is distracting you from family and other priorities. Perhaps your choices in movies, friends, or hangouts need some reconsideration. Or it could simply be whatever you keep meditating on and ruminating about must go – now. Pray and ask for wisdom about how the Lord is calling you to live.
Like King David, let’s strive more than ever to do what we can to be blameless for our Redeemer. Let us delete the garbage, whatever it is. When we do, we’re promised we will experience a joy that nothing on earth could ever provide.
Thought of the Month
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2
“Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don‘t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.” II Timothy 2:3-4
Months ago, we were asked if we’d like to conduct some leadership training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We were honored at the request, but, to be honest, we wondered what ordinary civilians like us could offer the highly-trained military men and women on this 111-year-old naval base. Yet we knew this would be an amazing adventure full of wonderful experiences. What surprised us most, however, were the lessons about faith that awaited us there!
As soon as our feet hit the ground at GTMO, we were whisked into a world where duty, honor, and service seem second-nature to our soldiers. Their work ethic is outstanding, and, as we quickly discovered, it’s pretty much 24/7, 365. Polite, determined, courageous, humble, and loyal are a sampling of adjectives we’d use to describe the military personnel we met at every corner of the base.
Most of all, these soldiers adhere to a collective faith in something far greater than themselves: freedom. This foundation of faith drives their efforts, day in and day out.
What a picture of our spiritual faith, because God is the One who offers us the greatest freedom of all. The Lord wants every man, woman, and child to experience the amazing life He always hoped for them-and then life eternal in Heaven once our mission here on Earth is completed.
Perhaps this is why the Apostle Paul used the imagery of a soldier to encourage us in our walk of faith. Soldiering involves sacrifice, and that sometimes includes suffering. The men and women at GTMO could tell you stories about that; we heard many such tales during our visit. They could also share about how they strive each day to make certain their commanding officer is pleased with their service-a great goal for us to remember as followers of Christ.
By the way, the Apostle Paul penned these words in a Roman prison cell after his arrest for sharing about his faith. Yet look at how he felt about that situation:
“So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.”
II Timothy 2:10
Paul understood the core of faith, and he was willing to let go of his own liberty if it offered others enduring freedom- the chance to be saved and live forever with God one day in the future.
This is exactly what faith in something bigger than ourselves will do, as we witnessed during our week at Guantanamo Bay. Faithful soldiers give of themselves. Soldiers are willing to sacrifice and even suffer. But soldiers also firmly believe that freedom is worth sacrificing for-a tremendous lesson of faith for all of us to follow!
Thought of the Month
“… the officer sent some friends to say, ‘Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, “Go,” and they go, or “Come,” and they come. And if I say to my slaves, “Do this,” they do it.’ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I haven‘t seen faith like this in all Israel!'”
Do you want to have a doubt free wedding day? Gary Thomas & Dr. Steve Wilke kick-off their Sacred Search video series to share about why through issues needs to happen WAY before your wedding day.
My husband and I recently watched a documentary on the Hubble Space Telescope. Even though we’d seen this presentation before, the majesty of what we beheld kept us totally captivated. And as the narrator detailed the numbers that kept growing increasingly immense, the expanse of the heavens clearly pointed to a pretty amazing Creator.
You don’t have to look to the skies to catch a glimpse of God’s greatness. Years ago, Dr. Richard Swenson shared some spectacular facts at a Focus on the Family conference for physicians. For instance, did you know that your body is comprised of 10,000 trillion trillion atoms? This number represents more than the stars in the universe! Did you know the human body has anywhere between 10-100 trillion cells-and it can make up to one trillion new ones each day? Take a deep breath if that blows your mind; when you do so, you’ll have taken in 150 million molecules of air.
These are some big numbers for you and me, but they reveal an even bigger God!
This simple thought helps me when I get overwhelmed in my world. The debt may be climbing, but the Lord who made the stars and calls them by name has everything in control (Psalm 147:4). The rapid rate that information is being processed today astounds me, but it’s only a drop in the bucket to what God knows (Psalm 147:5).
In Psalm 19 we discover that long before telescopes were invented, glancing at the evening sky led David to exclaim “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known” (verses 1-2, NLT). And later in Psalm 139 after he pondered the greatness of the One who had formed every intricate part of him, David reflected on more big numbers:
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up, you are still with me!
(verses 17-18)
How awesome! The heavens are huge, and the human body intricately complex-yet the thoughts God has about you and me cannot even be numbered!
I don’t know about you, but that’s the best big number I can possibly imagine. God thinks about us-in countless ways throughout each and every day. With that in mind, step out into your world with a renewed confidence this month. While the math may not seem to add up, the numbers really are on your side!
Thought of the Month
He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.
How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!
