Day 13 - 40 Days of JOY
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of JOY
Day 13 | JOY AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD
40 Days of JOY
Day 13 | JOY AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD
JOY AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Psalm 16:11
“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” (NLT)
Is there anyone you really like being around? And when you’re around him or her, you feel JOYFULL? For me, it would be my wife, Debbie. We LOVE spending time with each other. We talk, we laugh, we’ll watch a show, we’ll play some cribbage… we just enjoy each other.
Have you ever considered that you can ENJOY God like that too?
The 1648 Westminster Shorter Catechism asks it this way: “What is the chief end of man?” The answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”
In Psalm 16 it says, “granting me the joy of your presence.” In other words, being in the presence of the LORD should be joyful for His follower.
Now upon hearing that, I suspect some might wonder, “How does that work? Isn’t God everywhere present? Doesn’t that count?”
I think there’s a difference between GOD being omnipresent – everywhere present – and us ENJOYING His presence.
Going back to my illustration with my wife… she can be present in our home without me – at that particular moment – ENJOYING her presence. An example would be when she’s in her office working and I’m in mine.
Learning to “be still and know that I am God,” and thus recognizing the presence of the LORD, is different than just the fact that He’s everywhere present. And the JOY comes from that set-aside time, that special time with the Lord. As with my wife and I, when we stop work for the day and just spend time, it’s FULL of joy!
It's the same thing with the LORD. Learn to make time JUST to be with Him.
Prayer: LORD, I’m desiring to experience more JOY just being with You. Teach me, show me, lead me in your ways. Amen.
Psalm 16:11
“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” (NLT)
Is there anyone you really like being around? And when you’re around him or her, you feel JOYFULL? For me, it would be my wife, Debbie. We LOVE spending time with each other. We talk, we laugh, we’ll watch a show, we’ll play some cribbage… we just enjoy each other.
Have you ever considered that you can ENJOY God like that too?
The 1648 Westminster Shorter Catechism asks it this way: “What is the chief end of man?” The answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”
In Psalm 16 it says, “granting me the joy of your presence.” In other words, being in the presence of the LORD should be joyful for His follower.
Now upon hearing that, I suspect some might wonder, “How does that work? Isn’t God everywhere present? Doesn’t that count?”
I think there’s a difference between GOD being omnipresent – everywhere present – and us ENJOYING His presence.
Going back to my illustration with my wife… she can be present in our home without me – at that particular moment – ENJOYING her presence. An example would be when she’s in her office working and I’m in mine.
Learning to “be still and know that I am God,” and thus recognizing the presence of the LORD, is different than just the fact that He’s everywhere present. And the JOY comes from that set-aside time, that special time with the Lord. As with my wife and I, when we stop work for the day and just spend time, it’s FULL of joy!
It's the same thing with the LORD. Learn to make time JUST to be with Him.
Prayer: LORD, I’m desiring to experience more JOY just being with You. Teach me, show me, lead me in your ways. Amen.
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