Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.
– Psalm 100
Devotion
“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.”
The word “joy” is found 328 times in the Bible. According to Psalm 28:7, “The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust in Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.” In the Lord, we have every reason to “shout joyfully”. The great thing about Biblical joy is that it is based on our position with God, not on our circumstances or emotional condition. Christians can be facing difficult situations and still have joy because they are forgiven, ransomed, and restored children of God whose names are written in the Book of Life! That is why the apostle Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 6:10, “Our hearts ache, but our hearts have joy.”
The Big Question
When you are going through a difficult time, do you allow the circumstances to dictate your mood, or are you able to experience the joy that is always available because of your position as a child of God?