What a gorgeous day God has given us in Southeast, Texas. The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky, and 61 degrees. Stunning! I am feeling such joy in my soul and thanksgiving for Gods bounty! Of course I chose to read in Psalms, today. I love praising God. It is a joy to tell Him how much I love Him and how much I appreciate Him. He is so good to me! He is so good to all of us! Great is the Lord and WORTHY of all praise! Psalms 6:11 says, Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore Not just any kind of joy, but FULLNESS of joy! What a concept! Psalm 32:11 says, Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. Being glad in the Lord is a simple concept. Nothing on Earth: lack, want, car troubles, job issues....NOTHING can take away your joy in the Lord unless YOU allow it. When I think of all God has done for me, I cannot help but feel joy. The most horrible thing that has ever happened to me, personally, is loosing my Mother, Charlene Bradford, and my Birth-Mother, Vern Harrington, within 6 months of each other. The sorrow and loneliness of that loss was overwhelming. Knowing, however, that both belonged to Jesus, caused joy to well in my soul, even at that moment. My first thought when Mother breathed her last was: To be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. To know that she was home with her Parents, my Brother, and so many close friends was a comfort, but knowing that she was no longer imprisoned by a body which didnt work any more was joy that was unspeakable. My Birth-Mother was wracked with pain from a broken hip and arm that never healed properly. She had COPD and even taking a small breath was difficult for her. She was exhausted from the effort it took to keep breathing. To know that she was sitting at the feet of Jesus and able to get a full lung of air was wonderful. To both, I said, The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. BLESSED be the name of the Lord! I feel sorry for people who have no hope in Jesus. For them, death is the final goodbye. We have so much to look forward to! One of the things that my aging has given me is that I now have more friends in Heaven than I do on Earth! I dream of the happy reunion with my Moms, my precious Brother that I love and miss so very much, my Granny and Grandaddy Williamson, who were such a wonderful influence on my life! My Granny died when I was 10 but I didnt loose my Grandaddy until I was in my 30s. He was my very best friend. For the last 20 years of his life, I went to his home every week to clean up his yard. A stroke had taken his voice when I was a baby and he was hard for most people to understand over the phone. For some reason, I never had that problem. If anything was wrong in my life or I was troubled, the first thing that went through my mind was 982-4124. I would call and tell him what was going on. Without fail, he would say: Have you prayed about it? and my answer had better be yes. Then he would say: What does The Word say about it? If I didnt know, he would tell me to come right over and we would seek Gods answer together. Grandaddy went to Heaven in April of 1989. There has been no one at that number for over 25 years, but when I am in trouble, the VERY first thing that goes through my mind is, 982-4124. It reminds me to pray and seek God through His Word. The Psalmist said: For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5. Joy comes each and every morning at my house! PMR cant stop it (an orphan rheumatoid disease I have), back pain cant keep it away, tension and anxiety melt in its presence because I seek God in the morning and my joy in him drives away my weeping, regret, self-pity, and anything else that tries to get between me and the joy of my Salvation in Jesus Christ. Psalm 35:9 expresses this perfectly: And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation. When I read Psalm 51:8, Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice my chronic pain goes back enough for me to concentrate on the business of living. I become Psalm 98:4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Why? I choose to be joyful. I choose to glory in my Salvation, so freely given and so unearned. What do you have to be joyful about this morning? Did you awaken? Do you have shelter? Do you have food? Do you have basic necessities? If you are sad, I can even give you a verse for that: Psalm126:5 says, They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Taking JOY in the Lord is a choice. Chose Joy, today, and spread some around in your corner of the world. When people ask why you are so happy, tell them your joy comes from the Lord and your Great Salvation in Jesus!
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 15:24:43 +0000
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