Day 298: Friends, Make The Choice! Always, Always Rejoice!
Read: Philippians 4:4 - 7
I am so excited right now I can barely stand it. I have got a case of
the happy feet so that the only thing I want to do right now is dance
all over my house. I want to dance up the stairs and down the stairs. I
want to shamelessly dance like David did before the Ark of the Covenant
the day he brought it to the Great Tabernacle of the Lord our God
(if you can imagine what that must have looked like to the population on
hand). Good Lord, I am just so fully filled to the brim with a profound sense
of excitement for I have no idea what this day will bring and that just
absolutely throws my excitement level right off the chart. I know that
however my day goes, God's joy goes before me!
As Paul nears
the end of his letter of joy, what does he focus upon? Why it is joy of
course! Have we caught the concern in Paul's heart that people are
trying to exist in this life with so little joy in their hearts? Do we
realize how much he (Paul) and He (God) so very desperately wants us to live a
life of joy? I do not believe for one moment that God saved us from our
miserable life fully mired in sin for us to remain miserable and unhappy!
Father, Son and Holy Spirit so very desperately want us to dance like David
before the Lord with fully unabashed, shameless happiness and joy by
knowing our Creator. Put the Lord on full display! Show the world how wonderful it would be to fully know and fully experience God!
How do we live this life that we are being called to? How do we daily
live this joyous Christian life with such a reckless abandon? Paul
teaches us this basic principle: Paul informs us in Philippians that we
all have a choice to rejoice. Yes! Joy is a choice. Not every
circumstance is going to feel good. But we can always determine to be
joyful. Yes, oftentimes joy is a tough choice, an act of self will. That
is why grumbling and complaining is so overwhelmingly dangerous to the
spirit. Negative words take us to a path to where everything feels
utterly impossible, too hard, just plain unfair. But a positive word, a
positive thought, as an expression of God's salvation leads us to joy.
Rejoice in the Lord always and some will scoff at you like they scoffed at David. They will try to tell you that you are "completely out of your mind", it is
"impossible to be joyful at all times," that "no one can be that happy",
"no one should be allowed to be that happy!" But Paul himself, in his own painfully difficult Christian life, shows that it is indeed possible. Why? Because God has made a way! His Son Jesus Christ who is the only Way, The only Truth and The only Life! What is going on in your life right at this moment? How are you going to choose to react to those circumstances? You will eventually discover with some effort, the choice to always rejoice will fully rise from deep within you.
Let Us Pray: This is the day the Lord has made. I rejoice and I am glad
in it! I rejoice in You always. And again I say, I will always rejoice
in You. I fully delight myself in You, Lord. Happy am I because God is
my Lord, Jesus Christ is my Salvation, the Holy Spirit is my
Comforter and my Guide! Father, thank You for loving me and rejoicing
over me with such a level of joy that I cannot begin to comprehend it. I
come before You with dancing and singing, and everlasting joy is the
crown of gold upon my head. I obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow
and sighing flee away. That spirit of rejoicing, joy, and laughter is my
heritage. Father God, I will always praise You with joyful lips.
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Read: Philippians 4:4 - 7
I am so excited right now I can barely stand it. I have got a case of the happy feet so that the only thing I want to do right now is dance all over my house. I want to dance up the stairs and down the stairs. I want to shamelessly dance like David did before the Ark of the Covenant the day he brought it to the Great Tabernacle of the Lord our God (if you can imagine what that must have looked like to the population on hand). Good Lord, I am just so fully filled to the brim with a profound sense of excitement for I have no idea what this day will bring and that just absolutely throws my excitement level right off the chart. I know that however my day goes, God's joy goes before me!
As Paul nears the end of his letter of joy, what does he focus upon? Why it is joy of course! Have we caught the concern in Paul's heart that people are trying to exist in this life with so little joy in their hearts? Do we realize how much he (Paul) and He (God) so very desperately wants us to live a life of joy? I do not believe for one moment that God saved us from our miserable life fully mired in sin for us to remain miserable and unhappy! Father, Son and Holy Spirit so very desperately want us to dance like David before the Lord with fully unabashed, shameless happiness and joy by knowing our Creator. Put the Lord on full display! Show the world how wonderful it would be to fully know and fully experience God!
How do we live this life that we are being called to? How do we daily live this joyous Christian life with such a reckless abandon? Paul teaches us this basic principle: Paul informs us in Philippians that we all have a choice to rejoice. Yes! Joy is a choice. Not every circumstance is going to feel good. But we can always determine to be joyful. Yes, oftentimes joy is a tough choice, an act of self will. That is why grumbling and complaining is so overwhelmingly dangerous to the spirit. Negative words take us to a path to where everything feels utterly impossible, too hard, just plain unfair. But a positive word, a positive thought, as an expression of God's salvation leads us to joy.
Rejoice in the Lord always and some will scoff at you like they scoffed at David. They will try to tell you that you are "completely out of your mind", it is "impossible to be joyful at all times," that "no one can be that happy", "no one should be allowed to be that happy!" But Paul himself, in his own painfully difficult Christian life, shows that it is indeed possible. Why? Because God has made a way! His Son Jesus Christ who is the only Way, The only Truth and The only Life! What is going on in your life right at this moment? How are you going to choose to react to those circumstances? You will eventually discover with some effort, the choice to always rejoice will fully rise from deep within you.
Let Us Pray: This is the day the Lord has made. I rejoice and I am glad in it! I rejoice in You always. And again I say, I will always rejoice in You. I fully delight myself in You, Lord. Happy am I because God is my Lord, Jesus Christ is my Salvation, the Holy Spirit is my Comforter and my Guide! Father, thank You for loving me and rejoicing over me with such a level of joy that I cannot begin to comprehend it. I come before You with dancing and singing, and everlasting joy is the crown of gold upon my head. I obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing flee away. That spirit of rejoicing, joy, and laughter is my heritage. Father God, I will always praise You with joyful lips.
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