Where to Find Joy

Home alone, my social butterfly girl didn’t know what to do with herself.

Energized by being around others, time by herself is a rarity and something she avoids at all costs. She makes sure her time is filled with friends, family or fun.

In this short space of time alone, she decided to focus on Jesus. As she listened to worship music, she felt the Lord there in her bedroom. She told me, “I forgot how wonderful His presence is.” She was reminded that day:

Joy is where Jesus is.

The more it’s about me, the less happy I am.

It’s not just teens whose worlds are spinning; our worlds turn 24/7 too. In the constant whirling, we become immuned to our need for rest and quiet. And we wonder where the joy has gone and why we feel so drained, tired, sad.

The busy doesn’t fill the heart.

Why?

Because we weren’t created for spinning.

We were made for joy.

Yes, we were made to work hard and do what He has called us to do, but we were also created to find joy.

Isaiah 58:14 tells us, “then you will find your joy in the Lord…”

Then?

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord…” (Isaiah 58:13 – 14a) italics mine

Here I too see, the more it’s about me, the less happy I am. If I want to experience joy, I have to put aside going my own way, doing as I please. I have to honor the Lord, taking the time to get quiet and worship.

Maybe like me, you struggle to make it about Him and not about you. I’m making a change today, to set aside what I think is important and doing what I please and spend time with Him on this Sabbath.

What can you do, this Sabbath day, to not go your own way or do as you please?

Lynn

5 Comments

    1. Isn’t it amazing that we even need Jesus here? We really are dependent 🙂

  1. Great message today, Lynn! I’m definitely more of a “spin” person. I have to really focus on quieting my heart and mind to hear HIS voice.

    1. Jennifer, when you see these glimpses of God at work, it certainly makes the hard stuff and mistakes easier 🙂

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