February's Challenge - Joy
Jenna's assignments and my responses for this month's challenge:
"Read and meditate on 8 verses in the Bible that relate to being joyful."
Done. Here is my verse list:
1 Pet. 1:8
Ps. 126:3
Ecc. 2:26
Philemon 1:7
Phil. 4:4
Neh. 8:10
Zeph. 3:17
Ps. 107:8
And my thoughts:
1) 1 Peter 1:8 - "Joy in Salvation"
"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
It almost seems necessary to start back at verse three to get the full context for this verse. Peter is encouraging the believers in the "temptations", or trials, they are going through. These things are only for a little time and are reletively insignificant when compared with the awesomeness of Salvation, our unworthiness as recipients of such a gift, and the indescribable magnitude of eternity wiht Christ!
He has raised us from the lowest, most despicable postion that such vile, repulsive creatures could come to, and given us an incorruptible inheritance, shared with the most holy and pure being ever to exist - His Son.
Considering this, it is totally reasonable that he seed to "try (our faith) with fire" that it may be found at the end, to glorify and honor this One Who gave Himself to give us Hope! And though we have never seen Him, yet we believe He has accomplished all - this belief caused (for the believers addressed here) a joy that was "unspeakable" in it's magnitude.
Now for the personal application: I began to think on these verses, and was struck with this thought, "When have I been so amazed and grateful for the Salvation He has given me that my joy was 'unspeakable'? How often have I been speachless in the presence of such sacrifice?" Not often enough.
2) Psalms 126:3 - "Joy in Blessings"
"3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."
The joy and thanksgiving that the Psalmist feels here seems to just jump from the page! You can feel his enthusiasm, his gratefulness, and his worship of the One Who blesses.
This verse in itself has been a blessing to me, for it expresses so simply, yet so adequately, the emotion I often feel in recent months.
Great things! he has done great things for us! And we are glad!
But here's another thought. He blesses us abundantly - but do we take time to thank Him for those blessings? This may be just my interpretation, but I think that an inseprable part of true joy is it's expression - and what higher way to express it than to be thankful to Him Who gives it in the first place?! If someone is not thankful, they are not truly joyful. They may be happy - but not joyful. Take the story of the ten leppers in the Bible. Jesus healed them all, and they were all glad. But one was truly joyful - and he had to express it!
3) Ecclesiastes 2:26 - "Joy Bestowed"
"26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy:..."
This verse can be really convicting if we allow it to speak to us.
Everyone who has been saved may be considered 'good' in the sight of God, for they are convered by Christ, and He is What God sees. However, a saved person's actions are not always 'good'. Many times, though we are saved, we fall back into the ways of wsin. Those times obviously are not pleasing to the Lord.
To me, the verse seems to be implying a message similare to that of James 1: If you want, truly want, the Lord to give you some 'good' thing (like wisdom or joy), you must ask. And we must be sincere in our asking. If we are saved but living like we don't care, dare we think God will just automatically bestow all these righteous qualilies on us?! Seems mighty presumpuous to me.
Let us live 'good'. Let our lives ask, as well as our voices, and He will freely give us all good things.
4) Philemon 1:7 - "Joy in Other Saints"
"7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother."
It almost seems as if Paul here is writing what we'd call now, a "friendly letter" to Philemon, this dear friend and brother in Christ. This man was evidently a very righteous man, someone who could be depended upon, and of a loving, compassionate nature - and encourager.
Paul and Timothy had been blessed and comforted in his love. And not only in his love toward them - but also because of his love toward all "the saints". Sometimes it is just as much of a blessing to experience friendship for others that you love, as it is to be given friendship yourself.
Whatever the case was, Philemon was a believer who brought Joy to other believers.
Personal application: I am blessed with several dear friends who I acan truly say I "have great joy and consolation" in. They are my brothers and sisters in the Lord, and we are family! The Lord has increased the joy in my life through the love of these dear friends.
Does my friendship give others joy?
5) Philipians 4:4 - "Joy Commanded"
"4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice."
Practice counting your blessings, and Joy will begin to come naturally. Make it a way of life! We have so many reasons to be joyful, period! but what more wonderful reason is there to be glad than to think that Jesus, the Son of God, is our Lord?! There is none!
Sure, difficult times come, and come often. We will get discouraged, hurt, or angered. But we aren't commanded to be 'happy'. Happiness depends on immediate circumstances. Joy looks to eternity.
He is our Friend. He is our Brother. He is our Life! Rejoice!
6) Nehemiah 8:10 - "Joy Empowering"
"10 ...the joy of the LORD is your strength."
This is an interesting verse to me. The meaning of this phrase really hit me only a few days ago. I think that most people unconsciously interpret this to say in effect, "Be joyful, for the Lord is your strength." But it doesn't! it says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength"! Their strength was in the their Joy! It was their strenght! Maybe I'm all off base about this, but it sure provides some food for thought!
7) Zephaniah 3:17 - "Joy Divine"
"17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."
I love this verse! To think that the Lord of all creation, the One Who made the UNIVERSE, God Almighty could rejoice in us is just absolutely mind-blowing!! It's also very, very humbling - how often I have grieved Him! Oh that He would find more Joy than sadness in my life!!
8) Psalms 107:8 - "Joy"
"8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!"
I think that if I had to pick my favorite passage in all the Bible, this would be it. I've talked about it before... This verse says it all.
"List five blessings that made you smile"
Here mine are:
1. I've mentioned before that Bro. Earl is the principal of the Christian Academy our church started, and that sometimes I see him there on the days I work. Well, one day I was having a pretty hard time with some of the kids (I'm more upset with the parents though, 'cause they are the ones who should be teaching them better), and he was there and came and straightened things out, and then stood and chatted with me for a little while. That really cheered up my day!
2. I love thunderstorms - I guess it's the Scottish/Irish blood in me that joys in the rain. The other day we had a real down pour, and I think that was about my best day all month! ;)
3. The other morning I'd gotten up early to read my Bible while no one else was up, and it was still dark - it was also still cold! A dear friend of Mom's had made me one of those fleece blankets out of wonderful patriotic material (one side is red - my favorite color - and the other side has eagles), and it is the warmest, most comfortable wrap-up you can imagine! I was so cold, but I just pulled that blanket a little closer around me, snuggled down into the corner of the couch, and had a very nice Bible-reading time!
4. One evening after it had already gotten totally dark, I was outside for something, and I looked up at the sky, and was caught up completely in the beauty of the stars. I love to star-gaze anyway, and the magnitude and complexity of the universe just overwhelmed me! To think that God is bigger than that, and yet He still sees me!
5. Recently the Lord has been bringing to mind many of my most favorite old beloved songs, and also many new ones that I have grown to love dearly since being introduced to them. That is too long a story for now, but it seems like my heart has been especially ministered to through song this month. Maybe I can go into detail later.
Can I just add two more? Five is the number of Grace, seven is the number of Perfection, and there were two more blessings that made me smile, that I'd realy like to add, even though they may seem small:
6. I love to read!!! And when we were visiting at the C.'s house (told about in the post below) we got to discussing some of our favorite books, and it was like talking about mutual friends! :) Thinking about some of these old 'friends' definitly made me smile!
7. And last of all, one night as I was getting ready to go to bed, I suddenly noticed this sweet little sort of spicy smell that was just lovely! I was trying to figure out what it was, when I remembered I have a short, fat little Ginger Spice candle on my desk - that must have been it, and though I usually don't smell it just any time I walk in the room, that quiet little sent came to me then, and it was almost as if the Lord directed it just then as a special way of saying "Good night"! Maybe I'm too sentimental (I know I have a very active imagination - Lol), but however it happened, that nice little smell really brightened my evening, and made me smile!
I've got to say one more thing before I go: Just as the devil seemed intent on defeating me at the end of January, so he worked REALLY hard on me yesterday in the area of Joy. Please continue to pray for me as I join in these spiritual challenges.
Ok, I've got to run, but that's my post on Jenna's February challenge! Looking forward to March's!
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