Morning Devotion With Pastor Dan
June 26th, 2020
What gives you joy? Is it family? Is it your job? Is it friends? Maybe you are filled with joy when you are involved in your favorite hobby. The world is satureated with things that plead for our affection with the hope that what it has to offer us will give us great joy. I have heard so many times in years of ministry that “God just wants me to be happy.” These words set people on a course to find the next best thing to bring them joy, when all the time the joy they were looking for was right before their eyes.
(Habakkuk 3:18)…..Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
To rejoice means to re-joy, or repeatedly en-joy. We are to repeatedly and continually enjoy God and what He has done for us.
(Psalm 35:9)…..And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; It shall rejoice in His salvation.
Enjoying God means being delighted with Him. Are you delighted with God? Today, is He what brings a smile to your face, and a bounce to your step? If you answer yes to these questions, then let me ask “what is it about the Lord that gives you joy?”
When we enjoy God, and what He has done, we also provide enjoyment for God. For God enjoys you being happy about what He has done for you. He certainly enjoys a heart of thankfulness and gratefulness that we should have towards Him.
(Deuteronomy 26:11 – ESV)…..And you shall rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.
That is really a great verse in Scripture. It’s kind of convicting, right? Our response to God should not always be limited to just a rational, subdued little response. You know, without any excitement or emotion. Instead, when we clearly recognize what our wonderful Lord has accomplished for us, at times it should cause us to be overwhelmed with joy!
(Isaiah 61:10)…..I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Don’t allow God’s great love and redemption to become boring, trivial, or unexciting. Stir yourself up occasionally. Allow yourself to act like you were hearing the Good News for the first time. Go ahead — jump and shout! Fall in love with the Lord!