Enjoying Moments When You Don’t Feel Joyful - The Crosswalk Devotional - December 12
Enjoying Moments When You Don’t Feel Joyful
By Keri Eichberger
Bible Reading:
This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)
I have a confession. I was once known to secretly roll my eyes at a Bible verse that you probably know well. But you know what makes this easier to admit? The truth is that likely many of you have struggled with this scripture too. Psalm 118:24 proclaims, This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Well, let’s be honest. There are loads of days we don’t feel a lot like rejoicing. There are many moments we don’t seem to have much to be glad about. Personally, I have been dealing with debilitating pain for the entire past year. I feel insufficient to fight through the next few demanding months. And I have lots of fear concerning another major surgery on the horizon. The bottom line is, I’ve been digging deep to find joy each and every day.
Is there something going on around or inside of you that is keeping you from feeling joyful on this day or lately? You may not necessarily be in a season where joy is hard to find. Maybe you are feeling full of reasons to be beaming and brimming with high spirits. But I do believe we all struggle from time to time. I get it. I’m also wrestling right now. And listen, God sees you, and he gets it too.
But here’s what I understand about this well-known verse. When the psalmist says, This is the day the Lord has made, it serves as a reminder that God is sovereign over all things. That he made the day. He made it all. I also understand that our sovereign God is good and trustworthy. And because he is the master and creator of the day, and he is good, we know everything he puts in it is part of his good plan. Therefore, we have hope. Therefore, we can smile, and we can be thankful. Therefore, we can be glad and rejoice because whatever is surrounding us today is for good. And that is good.
Not only that, we know that God places good all around us, beyond what we can even see or perceive. His good blessings overflow all throughout creation and all throughout our lives. We just need to take notice, because many times we miss it. We need to be still in his presence in the present, because many times we move forward too fast or get wrapped up in our fears of the future. We need to take notice of the good he has done. Notice the small and simple moments right before us. There may be something big and scary hovering above or ahead. But right in front of us, right beside every single one of us, is the good Lord and an abundance of his blessings.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
Believe it or not, I no longer roll my eyes when I hear or recite this verse. Rather, I now have a habit of waking up each morning, whispering these words to my heart. And even if my waking hours don’t feel so joyful, the reminder that our good God has created the day that greets me gives me hope and a reason to rejoice.
I understand that often as the day moves on, it’s difficult to enjoy moments when you aren’t feeling so joyful. But joy is possible at any moment, at this very moment, if you can remind your heart that this is indeed the day the Lord has made. That this is the season the Lord has made. This is the life the Lord has made for me and you. And it is all good. For your good, his good, and his great glory. So we can thank him for his power, we can thank him for his presence, and we can rejoice. We can be glad at this very moment. And we can praise him for this very day. This day that he has wonderfully and perfectly planned and made.
If you liked what you read, I think you will love my latest book, Win Over Worry: Conquer What Shakes You and Soar With the One Who Overcomes. You can find it on Amazon or your favorite online retail site. I hope it blesses you!
How did today’s devotional speak to you? Share your thoughts in the Crosswalk Devotional discussion.
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