--"And the ransomed of the LORD will return and come with joyful Shouting to Zion, With everlasting Joy upon their heads: They will Find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will Flee away." (ISAIAH 35:10) --
---Most of us have a plan for finding pleasure and happiness, but we are unaware of the significance of joy in our lives. This verse is an interesting collection of opposites: When you find gladness and joy, sorrow and sighing will run from you. If your life has too much sorrow and sighing, the antidote is not pleasure and happiness. It is gladness and joy. This is an attitude of our spirit more than the condition of our body or our emotional state. If we don’t leave enough space in our hearts for joy, we have missed the contentment that could be ours. Begin to say to the Lord, “Help me understand what joy is and how I can let it emerge in my heart so that I can lead a contented life, not dependent on my physical circumstances or my emotional state, but something that transcends them.” Begin to let the joy of the Lord define your life, not your circumstances or the people around you.
--*THINK ABOUT IT --What plan could you develop to find and cultivate gladness and joy? Would you have to reprioritize other plans to make room for the things that bring God’s joy?
--PRAYER --"Heavenly Father, help me walk in Your joy. Set me free from any hindrances in my attitude, and help me to know true contentment by making more room for joy. In Jesus’ name, amen."
Blessings, Pastor Allen Jackson World Outreach Church
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." [John 14:6]
