With Joy!

Yesterday, during lunch, I opened my Bible and started reading from Psalms and Proverbs. The following verses about joy caught my attention.

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; 

my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him." ~ Psalm 28:7

"An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices." 

~ Proverbs 29:6

Before I took a break for lunch, I had been cleaning at Alongside (a retreat and counseling ministry for pastors and missionaries) and was just "enduring it." I was tired yesterday, so my work was just to "get it done". While I ate my lunch and meditated on God's Word, I recognized that my attitude was wrong. I wasn't cleaning refrigerators and bathtubs with a heart of joyful service. I was vacuuming and dusting with a heart of "work". 

There is nothing wrong with working, being focused on the task, and doing a good job, but God calls us to so much more than just enduring this life and the things He has set before us to do. We are to live in joy and sing songs of praise because of Him.

A verse that God has used in my life recently is Colossians 1:11 which says, 

"May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, 

for all endurance and patience with joy." 

Paul could have ended the verse with "endurance and patience", but the Holy Spirit inspired him to add, "with joy". Because God gives us strength, we can endure, but not just endure, endure with great joy. 

Last evening while I washed dishes, I found myself again just doing it for the sake of doing it and not finding joy in it. But how can I find joy in doing the dishes? By remembering that it's more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35), that I'm serving as if I'm serving Jesus (Colossians 3:24), and that I'm showing love to my family through my service.

One of the most practical ways I've found to "endure with joy" is to sing while I work. Singing lifts my heart and reminds me of the joy I have in Jesus. We have such a wonderful gift of salvation and abundant life! May we never forget, but always delight in our God!

Having a joyful heart is being able to sing while we serve, rejoice in everything, and have an attitude like Jim Elliot, the missionary martyr, who wrote, "Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." 

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice." ~ Philippians 4:4 

Let's walk this path with joy! It's a wonderful road with Jesus and the joy that He brings us!

Blessings,
Christina

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!