Good morning. Did you know that one of the challenges of helping a starving person is that they are typically not hungry? Oh sure, for a while they are maniacal in their hunger, willing to do anything for a scrap of food. But in time, those urges fade and people who are wasting away from starvation don’t seem to care about much of anything anymore, not even food.
I am very grateful for the spirit of joy that we have found in worship here at New Life Christian. Some time after the miseries of COVID separation, after we had started to meet together again in fellowship and worship, renewed joy found its way into the heart of our worship. I believe we were starving for such renewal. I believe that we, like so many Christian bodies who had been deprived of worship and fellowship, had reached a point of starvation so severe we no longer noticed the pain. God loved us through those times and has renewed our joy, offered a feast, and encouraged us to find nourishment in righteous and joyful worship.
As we worship today let’s remember the truth about joy:
Joy is both a gift of God and it is commanded of those who love Him.
God Himself is our joy, because of who He is, what He is doing, and due to what He has done.
Joy is a natural response to blessings but is also found in the midst of hardship when the Lord is walking with us.
Joy is boisterous, frequently loud, and celebratory in nature, but we must always remember that there is also a sacrificial element to joy as it is expressed with the Lord.
Psalm 98:4-6 commands us in joy:
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
With the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord.
The time of wanting is past, the time of feasting is at hand. We have learned not to take worship or our joy in the Lord for granted. Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: REJOICE! Philippians 4:4
Be well fed today!
Vern