SING WHEN ITS DARKEST About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and SINGING hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, Acts 16:25. Happy Fathers Day to all the dads and to-be dads out there! : ) Everybody I know, or just about every believer I know, has something (difficulty) on their plate in this season. And whatever that is, I dont know of one that said, hey God, sign me up for THAT trial.... I think I can do that one. No, our loving Father orchestrates what He knows we need in the refining process as He prepares us for greater things. ; ) So, how do we get through those times and seasons? How do we go about, as David did in 1 Samuel 30:6, encouraging ourselves in The Lord? To start, encouraging ourselves in the Lord is part of how we go about recovering joy—not the shallow, tingly, , momentary feeling of happiness, but deep, abiding joy, which can be present even in the midst of our deepest pain and sorrow. The idea of having joy in the midst of sorrow may seem contradictory but truth is in that. If you and I are going to recover from the worst day of our lives, among the first things to recover is joy. The devil knows he must steal our joy to defeat us. Satan is quite aware of the spiritual truth concerning joy as recorded in Nehemiah 8:10. Do not sorrow, for the JOY of the Lord is your strength’ ” What the devil is after through excessive grief and lingering depression is our strength—the strength that is found in the JOY of the Lord. Peter wrote about the devil using a stalking strategy likened to a lion stalking its prey. The devil “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” 1 Pet. 5:8. The devil is an opportunist seeking to prey upon the weak and feeble. Satan does not want a confrontation with strength; he seeks to exploit weakness. Understanding the JOY of the Lord is the strength of the believer, the devil seeks to steal our JOY, thereby reducing us to weakness. The believer who can retain his joy will win in the end. : ) If the devil cannot steal your JOY, he cannot defeat you. The moment David began to encourage himself in the Lord and recover his JOY, he changed everything. JOY is not just a preferred temporary, emotional state; it is a necessary element in attaining full recovery. James 1:2-4 gives us vital information about how to respond in a trial: “count it all JOY when we fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience.” If we allow patience to have its perfect work, we will “be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” James shows us that the redeemed should respond to the trials of life completely differently from those who are not blessed with a Christian perspective on life. He says that WHEN (not IF) we encounter them, we should “count it all JOY.” The word translated “count” is hegeomai. It is an accounting term that means we are to place trials in the JOY column of our emotional ledger. Hegeomai also means “to rule or exercise authority.” So when you are thrust into a trial, you must take authority, rule over your feelings and choose JOY as your dominant position. If you and I can remember to encourage ourselves in the Lord during hard times, and learn to govern our emotions and maintain JOY, then in the end we WILL have victory. This is the promise of God! So, in finishing up here, did you stop and consider what Paul and Silas were doing? Where they were? They were in a nasty, dark, dreary prison cell! Were they feeding on each others sorrows? No! They were singing! : ) Singing Joe, really?! Yes, really. I want to encourage (challenge) all of you. If you are facing difficult/trying/painful/weary times, find a song that lifts your head in God. I know that sounds religious, etc. but trust me, finding a song (or SONGS) that gets your focus off of you and on to God changes everything. Everyone that knows me knows I generally always have Christian music on. Why? It brings me joy and puts my focus where it needs to be: on the ONE who created me and loves me. : ) Blessings family!
Posted on: Sun, 15 Jun 2014 21:04:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015