A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Monday, May 23^rd, 2016. Today is the 144^th Day of 2016.

There are only 222 days left in this year; and, there are only 27 days left until Father’s Day; and, there are only 216 days left until CHRISTMAS…

REASONS TO REJOICE

Psalm 5:11-12
¹¹ “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.
¹² For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.”

Joy is one of those things that is sort of hard to define in mere words, but we certainly know it when we experience it.

This is the emotion of a Groom seeing his Bride coming down the aisle…

A parent seeing their newborn child for the first time…

Graduation…

Finding out that you got the job…

Joy is that highest sense of wellbeing that touches one from the sole of their feet to the top of their head.

It is the highest sense of happiness that one can experience in this life.

The Word of God has lots and lots to say about joy. Over the next several devotions, I want to think about joy. I covered some of this in devotions from the Book of Philippians, but, I want to survey the entire Bible for insight into this blessing we call joy.

Here in Psalm 5, we have four distinct reasons for the Child of God to experience joy:

The thought of taking refuge in God is a source of joy…

“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice…”

God is our refuge; our shelter in a time of storms. HE is the source of our safety. We are in HIS hands, safe and secure.

We sing for joy because of our protection and our Protector.

“let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them…”

God protects HIS people. This is, of course, closely related to our having HIM as our refuge. God has promised that HE will, “never leave you nor forsake you…” That thought in all of the trials of life we face leaves us in a spirit of joy.

We have joy because we love HIS Name. How different this is from those who hate HIM and HIS Name. We bless HIS Name – they curse HIS Name.

“that those who love your name may exult in you.”

We have joy; they will have judgment.

We have joy because of the blessings of God.

“For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.”

In HIS unending kindness, God blesses HIS people. David uses the beautiful metaphor of being covered the way a soldier takes cover behind his shield as he sees the enemy approaching.

God pours out HIS blessings… HIS favor… on us; and, in HIM and in HIS blessings, we rejoice.

Do not miss the opportunity for Mid-Week Prayer and Bible Study Wednesdays from 6:30 – 8:00pm. We are studying the Second Coming of Jesus and the events that follow into the Eternal State.

The lesson for next Wednesday, (5/25) is “Are there really any ‘Signs of the Times?’” This is one of the most important lessons in understanding where we are today in the relation to the fulfilling of biblical prophecy.

Don’t miss this lesson…

Each Wednesday will feature a stand-alone lesson, so even if you can’t make them all; be sure you catch as many of these lessons as you can.

Carpe Diem!