Life’s challenges and imperfections can take a toll on us. If you are looking for a little help in the joyful and thankful department, I’ve found some in Psalm 32.
“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” v. 1-2
Isn’t it easy to get focused on the temporal things and lose sight of this Good News? Our sins are forgiven!
I struggle on the regular with joy dips and often my struggle is based on me and my circumstances: What’s missing in my life. Who is missing. What I wish were true. Those things are REAL and not unimportant to me or to God. But the truest thing about me and about you is….
The God who created the universe also chose to create us. He is LOVE. In love, He chose us to be alive right now. We matter to God. We matter so much that He allowed His son to SUFFER in ways we can barely allow ourselves to consider. LOVE chose suffering death for you and me. Why?
Because LOVE wanted us. We belong to the God who is LOVE. The purest form of love is ours to enjoy every single moment. LOVE wanted nothing to separate us from Him, so LOVE made a way.
There could only be ONE WAY. Jesus! The perfect Father partnered with the perfect Son to make a perfect covenant. The perfect sacrifice fulfilled the perfect law of love. Pure, perfect LOVE pursued you and me. LOVE covered a multitude of my sins. LOVE covered a multitude of your sins. LOVE is still covering us.
This IS a MIRACLE of epic proportions. I need a Savior to rescue me from the debt I owe the King for my sins and I have One! I am loved by a Father who stopped at nothing to bring me close. I am loved by His Son so much that He chose to pay for my adoption (redemption) with His very own life. And THEN He chose to share everything He earned and deserved with me.
You and I have something SO WONDERUL in common!
We have Holy Heroes whose choice to love us did not fail, does not fail, will not fail. So no matter how imperfect we are and no matter how imperfect our relationships are … Perfect LOVE is always ours. We are perfectly loved.
We have Holy Heroes whose choice to love us did not fail, does not fail, will not fail. So no matter how imperfect we are and no matter how imperfect our relationships are … Perfect LOVE is always ours. We are perfectly loved.
He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me. Psalm 18:19
No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147:11
Our work is to believe this love is real. Our work is to believe in Jesus and His role to take away the sins of the world because God has mercy on us.
Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29
Most of our culture has dismissed God and made sin a non-issue. Much of the world has chosen to put wickedness on a pedestal to be worshipped (Zechariah 5). But we are not of this world. With our attention (our worship) on the REAL reality of being made right with God, with LOVE, we can truly relax and enjoy JOY. We can experience seasons of lack on earth and still hope and even laugh.
Because the same God who provided a Savior for us when we needed one, is still loving us and still committed to upholding the honor of His name as Father, Provider, our Portion, our Sufficiency, the Stability of our times, Light of our paths, and so many other amazing roles!
I pray in Jesus’ holy name that the Holy Spirit would continue to reveal truth to us about the true joy of being loved and welcomed by the God who delights in us. May this covenant of peace be our greatest treasure while we are living here on earth! Amen
MORE ENCOURAGEMENT
I love to sing my way back to the truth when I’m having a dip in my joy levels. Here are a couple of songs on this topic that you may enjoy:
The Joy of the Lord by Maverick City Music
Jubilee by Maverick City Music
You Satisfy My Soul by Laura Hackett Park
PRAYER MAIL
Do you love to encourage people with Scriptures and show them great love by praying for them? Me too! Last year, I created Prayer Mail, a greeting card subscription service, to help us all be ready with a Scriptural prayer greeting card when someone we love needs a touch.
Learn more about Prayer Mail here!