Take Delight in the LORD

          Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Drink it in slowly….paying close attention to God’s timing in your life.

            Though we know that we should respect God’s timing, it’s not always easy to accept it.  We get impatient; sometimes we run ahead of Him.  Ever done that?  I certainly have!  Let’s strive to understand the value of God’s timing.  He never gets in a hurry; nor does He ever lag behind and show up late! Time is God’s tool to carry our His perfect plan in our lives.

            Psalm 37:4 tells us to  “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Through the years I have come to look at this verse with a new perspective.   What we truly desire, often, is a desire put into our heart from the Lord.  He has purposed it in our lives and His will is to give us that gift of seeing the desire come to fruition. It brings joy to Him to be able to bring joy to us!

 Charles Stanley encourages us to remember that “timing is everything, and key puzzle pieces are falling into place as we wait.  God is changing hearts and engineering circumstances we have no idea even exist.  Therefore, the delays we face are not a denial of His promise; rather they are an integral part of His strategy to arrange all the details and get us positioned for His excellent plan.”

           Keep praying, walk patiently with the Lord, and expect joyful blessings in God’s perfect timing.

             

Never Give Up on Joy!

         Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Sip your Joy Juice this morning as you patiently wait on the Lord.

            Have you ever had to “wait on God”?  We all have! And it’s often a big challenge!   Charles Stanley says waiting on God requires “the ability to keep hoping when the nevers of life bombard us—when the minutes and hours, days and years, tick away without any answers to our most passionate pleas at the throne of grace.  It’s the faith to hang on to the Father on the long road, when human reason tells us to give up.”

            Why do you think God makes us wait?

·        One reason may be so that we can learn something important that He’s trying to teach us.

·        It may deepen our spiritual relationship and daily walk with Him 

·        Waiting may give us a new perspective and fill us with wisdom that we might not have developed otherwise.

            Waiting is not always our choice, but it can be a valuable gift.  There will be times when we will eventually understand why God wanted us to wait…because He had such a better plan than what we could have every imagined. But then there will be times when we truly do not understand why the period of waiting is so long. That’s when we have to simply trust. Psalm 37:34 says, “Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing.”

            As the scripture says, “Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act!”   Let His joy be your strength (Nehemiah 8:10) as you patiently wait.           

Wait on God....Courageously and Joyfully

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  What are you waiting on?  Go ahead and drink in the JOY of the Lord!

            Most of us would agree that sometimes it’s really hard to wait!  Who likes to wait in long lines? We certainly don’t like to wait long to be served in a restaurant because we’ve come there hungry! Children think Christmas or their birthday will NEVER get here!   Waiting is hard…especially when you are looking forward to something.

            What about waiting on God to answer your prayers?  That can get really challenging! Some people pray for something for years…and it seems that God isn’t listening to these heart-felt requests.  Some people give up on God—thinking that He will never answer that prayer.  Charles Stanley writes in his book, Waiting on God, that ”the only ‘never’ you should focus on is that God will never let you down. Whatever it is you yearn for—no matter how long you have to wait—you can trust the Father to lead you and know for absolute certain that He has your very best interest in mind. The key  is to remember WHOM it is that you’re really anticipating.” 

         Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV) says, “ Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

          Joyfully wait…while focusing on the truth that He will NEVER let you down!

A Cheerful Heart...Such a Blessing!

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  It will help you to have a cheerful heart!    

 

            Proverbs 17:22 says: “A cheerful heart is good medicine” We’d all be a lot healthier if we would take this life-changing medication! Coach Pat Street teaches that….

·        A cheerful heart is a heart at peace. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we have sweet peace in Him. 

·        A cheerful heart is a heart of praise. “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs” - Psalm 100:1-2

·        A cheerful heart is a heart of prayer. Philippians 4:6 tells us to:   “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

·        A cheerful heart is a heart of obedience. Jesus says in John 14:15: “If you love Me, you will obey my commandments”

·        A cheerful heart is a heart of purpose.  Hebrews 12:1 tells us: “. . . let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”.

·        A cheerful heart is a heart of power. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” –Philippians 4:13 

            Let’s ask God for a cheerful heart …one that overflows with peace, praise, prayer, obedience, purpose and power in Christ.  

The Bible is filled with scriptures encouraging us to be cheerful.  Enjoy your relationship with Jesus by drinking in His Joy Juice continually!

A Feast of Joy

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Be sure to have plenty on hand for the feast we’ll be attending today.

            Did you know that you are invited to a feast?  Look at Proverbs 15:15.  This passage tells us: …the cheerful heart has a continual feast. This doesn’t have anything to do with food; but it has everything to do with our continually seeking that JOY of the Lord.

            When we wake up each morning, we have a choice.  We can choose to start worrying about all that we have to do and what might happen; or we can put our trust in God and ask Him to carry us through our day.  If we choose to rest in Him, then we will be continually filled with His Joy.

            Our attitude affects our whole personality.  We can’t always choose what happens to us, but we can choose our attitude toward each situation.  The secret to a cheerful heart is filling our minds with thoughts that are true, pure and lovely...thoughts that dwell on the good things in life (as Philippians 4:8 teaches).  This was Paul’s secret as he faced trials  and it can be ours as we face the struggles of daily living.  

            I suggest that we all choose JOY!  I’m looking forward to attending your feast…and can’t wait to see you at mine!

            Let's expectantly await a delicious, continual feast today and everyday!  And may we make sure to serve lots of Joy Juice!   

Extraordinary Joy

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  It may be an ordinary day, but let’s look for extraordinary joy.

             Children are masters at finding joy! Have you noticed?  Little guys can pick up a stick and play with more joy than if they had an expensive toy in their hands! Little ones delight in the wild flowers they can pick along their path….and they sparkle with joy when they present that flower to their mom or grandmother. Those of you who are blessed with the company of children will often be reminded of how special the simple pleasures can be.   The spontaneous laughter from those little bundles of energy comes so easily about things we might often miss…like chasing butterflies, listening to the bobwhite’s call or giggling at the puppy dog’s wagging tail! None of these things cost a penny!  Yet, they bring so much simple joy!

            We need to slow down and realize that it’s against the backdrop of the “ordinary” that God’s work becomes “extraordinary”. 

            When we see God in everything, we will experience His joy.  In John 10:10, Jesus said: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  Abundant life, friends, is God’s plan for us.  If we will only accept each new day as the gift He intends it to be, we will find joy beyond measure….in even the small, simple things of our ordinary day.

            Drink in the Joy Juice of Jesus and look at life from a new perspective.  Your ordinary day may just turn into an extraordinarily joyful one!

.

The Joy of the Lord IS Our Strength!

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  People who have a steady diet of Joy Juice are healthier…so drink up!

            It has been documented that people who laugh a lot and have a positive, joyful attitude live longer than those who don’t.  Researchers tell us that our physical, spiritual and emotional health varies according to the amount of laughter in our lives!  I guess we could say that laughter is a “tranquilizer with no bad side effects”… a multi-vitamin chocked full of benefits! 

            Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that JOY makes us strong!  “The joy of the Lord is your strength!"

  His JOY in us will produce His strength through us.  Our friend, Mary Southerland says: “A life without joy is like a car without shock absorbers. It will be jolted by every bump in the road.  Laughter and joy are the shock absorbers of life and can radically change our perspective....”

            Christian friends are a great source of joy and strength. That’s a good reason to surround ourselves with brothers and sisters in Christ.   Because of our love for the Lord and for each other, we can face the tough days…as well as the good ones.  We can laugh together, cry together, pray together, support one another….and experience a joy beyond description because…that joy is from Him.  Indeed, “the joy of the Lord is our strength!”

            Face the day with a joyful attitude and be ready to share a smile and laugh with those God brings along your path today!