Day 17 - 40 Days of JOY

Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of JOY
Day  17 | FULL OF JOY
FULL OF JOY

Joel 2:21
“Be happy and full of joy, because the LORD has done a wonderful thing.”
(NCV)

Can you remember the last time you got a gift from someone that just made you happy?  Maybe it was at Christmas or a birthday or an anniversary or some other event, but when you got that gift and opened it… you were HAPPY.

Look at what the Prophet Joel writes here.  True, it was written at the time for the Israelites, but many things in the Scriptures give us principles that can be applied TODAY.

So, let’s think.  Has the LORD done anything extraordinary in your life?  Asked another way… Is there anything in your life for which you can be thankful?

I HOPE the answer to both of those questions is a resounding YES!

And even if you can only think of ONE WONDERFUL thing that the LORD has done for you OR any ONE thing for which you are thankful… that should be ENOUGH to cause you to be happy and full of joy!

You see, what keeps me from being happy and joyful about things that the LORD has done for me is probably the same thing that limits your enjoyment too.  A short memory.
AW Tozer – a famous preacher from the past – said, “The people of God ought to be the happiest people in all the wide world!  People should be coming up to us constantly and asking the source of our joy and delight.”

Joy and happiness should – for the follower of Jesus – be a 365-days-a-year thing. The LORD has done so MANY beautiful things for us, such as salvation, peace, discernment, prayer access, the Holy Spirit, and hundreds of other things… plus ALL the answered prayers. If we aren’t “happy and full of joy,” it’s NOT His fault.  It’s ours.

Prayer: LORD, again, forgive me for NOT recalling ALL you’ve done for me in the past.  YOU have been amazing, and I’ve acted like a self-centered two-year-old.  Help me to remember, Lord. Amen.