Today’s devotional thoughts from Greg:
One thing we are all searching and reaching for is joy. Real, undiluted, enduring joy. The Bible often tells us that we have great joy in Christ, but many of us struggle with the specifics. How do we find and obtain this joy? Where does it come from?
Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with claps of joy.
How awesome is the LORD Most High,
the great King over all the earth!
He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.
He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
Selah
God had ascended amid shouts of joy,
the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.
God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
- Psalm 47
Joy can come from the knowledge, and acknowledgment, of God's power. The God we serve is in control. No rebellious forces in this world can change God's purpose for our lives. No matter what people, kingdoms, stresses, or failures pull and tug on our lives, God is powerful enough to protect us.
Ultimately, God's power is most perfectly reflected in Jesus' resurrection from the dead. God's sovereignty extends farther than our sin. Our unchangeable, unshakable King has determined to offer us new life with Christ, so that we too may be raised from death. This is certainly cause for joy! The simple, yet beautiful fact that God is powerful enough to free us from the black storm cloud of sin is the source of the "good news of great joy" pronounced at Jesus' birth.
Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we pray thee and come;
that, defended by Thee, we may deserve rescue
from approaching dangers brought on by our sins,
and being set free by Thee, obtain our salvation.
Who livest and reignest, with God the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
God, world without end. Amen.
- Advent prayer
Let earth receive her king!
Let every heart prepare Him room
and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing
and heaven, and heaven and nature sing!
- Joy to the World
Lord, help us to know joy as a spring always welling up within us
and give us power to dance through life,
not as men and women who are blind to sorrow, misery, or shame,
but as those who know your victory over death and cannot help but rejoice.
- Edmund Banyard
May you rejoice in God's everlasting power today, and may you be glad that no sins or circumstances are able to overpower God's victory.
