PRAYER PROMPT ••• As I sit in the quiet of my living room this morning, coffee and my dog beside me, I think of joy.
I’ve missed so many opportunities to be joyful throughout my life, but I’ve learned so much about it in the last few years.
I am reminded of 1 Thessalonians 5:16, which says, “Always be joyful.”
Not sometimes.
Not when circumstances are going your way.
Always.
Not just because it’s Christmas.
Savor the lyrics of the Christmas carol, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come,” and apply them to every single day of the year.
He came to earth and He lives!
As the rest of the song’s lyrics remind us, “the Savior reigns… no more let sins and sorrows grow… He comes to make His blessings flow… He rules the world with truth and grace…”
All beautiful reminders to have joy in the Lord.
Today and every day.
Long before Jesus was born, King David recognized this truth.
He wrote, in Psalm 144:15b, “Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.”
If we recognize the sovereign greatness of God and have accepted Jesus into our hearts, it shouldn’t take the Christmas season to remind us to have joy.
Today, as you pray, thank Jesus for coming to earth.
Thank Him that except for sin, He lived as we do.
He got tired, thirsty, and hungry.
He celebrated at a wedding and mourned at a funeral.
He ate with friends and spent time with His family.
He laughed, He cried, and He even got mad sometimes.
Through it all, He modeled prayer, faith, trust, and showed us how to live a life of joy through His love.
At the cross, He demonstrated the Father’s merciful grace when He hung there and died.
He gave us hope when He was resurrected and sent us the Holy Spirit to comfort us until He returns to take us home.
He is the very reason we should have joy.
Because He was born to give it generously.
Merry Christmas to you and yours, from me and mine…
One Response
And to you as well, Denise! <3