Joy: Week 1 - Day 5
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, direct my steps today. Give me strength to live for you in this world of opposition. I will praise you for your faithfulness and thank you for your grace. Amen.
“weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b
“I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.” Psalm 26:5
“Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 26:24b
REFLECT:
Our oldest son was born with a spina bifida birth defect. The first few days of his life were uncertain. When we brought him home from the hospital, I was holding him one night and thought to myself, “I will never be happy again.” That was fifty years ago and he has since become an adult, graduated college, owns his own home and there have certainly been many, many happy days in my life. Sometimes suffering can be overwhelming and we think there will never be a better day. The path to finding joy is often found only by embracing pain.
APPLY:
We are called to be part of what God is doing, much of which happens in challenging circumstances. Our natural desire for comfort and ease holds us back and makes us reluctant to join him in his work. One of the things suffering has the power to change is self-sufficiency. In our suffering, all the idols that crowd into our hearts are proved deficient.
God created us for a relationship with him. It is his desire that we depend on him. He is our father and he stands ready to respond to us when we cry out to him. He is with us and will not forsake us. Just as God said to the faithful who have gone before us, he says to us – “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
CLOSING PRAYER:
Father God, thank you for your compassion and your faithfulness to lead and guide me. I don’t know what the day will bring but you do. I give you this day, whatever it may bring, knowing that you watch over me. Everything I am is yours. May you be pleased with me today. Amen.