Sunday Stirrings: Joy
Well folks, I (along with my other 100 and so family members) have officially survived our first week of the semester and it has been....
Different. So different from last semester in fact that I actually feel...
Joy. Joy (delight in Hebrew) that the Psalmist found in writing songs of praise to the Lord. Joy (chara; happiness in Greek) that both Jesus and the Apostle Paul used in speaking and writing.
But why so much joy? Friends there is joy in my heart because it is the beginning of something new. A new semester, a new approach to how this year is going to be (and not because of lame resolutions that I've set for myself and have already completely forgotten about), and a new stirring in my heart to get out there and change the world!
This morning in church the speaker continued in the "Stuck" series they've been going through. Something that really caught my attention was when he said, "If you're feeling in a rut you don't have to stay there! You can't just be slumming around thinking that God is going to pull you out when he finally sees you've had enough. You have to DO something about it!"
That is how I felt all last semester. I felt stuck in a rut with no where to go and like God was keeping me there until he decided I had had enough, but that wasn't true at all because that isn't the God we serve. He had me there to teach me something: that I can't do anything apart from him or apart from being fully engaged in His Word. I remember telling people I felt like all semester God was being that parent who, silently, was saying, "You know you're doing something wrong and I'm just going to wait until you figure it out. I'm here when you want to talk."
This Christmas break (as long as it felt) was a good break for me to have because I was able to finally take some breaths and drink in the goodness of the Gospel. I was able to rest in the peace and joy that comes from being fully engaged with the Father and His Word. Now I'm not saying I'm super spiritual all of a sudden and that I've fully grasped what it means to know God, but slowly and surely I hope I am getting there!
The stirring in my heart this Sunday is one of the flag of joy being flown high from the castle of my heart, for the King is indeed in resident there. Happy Sunday Friends!
Different. So different from last semester in fact that I actually feel...
Joy. Joy (delight in Hebrew) that the Psalmist found in writing songs of praise to the Lord. Joy (chara; happiness in Greek) that both Jesus and the Apostle Paul used in speaking and writing.
But why so much joy? Friends there is joy in my heart because it is the beginning of something new. A new semester, a new approach to how this year is going to be (and not because of lame resolutions that I've set for myself and have already completely forgotten about), and a new stirring in my heart to get out there and change the world!
This morning in church the speaker continued in the "Stuck" series they've been going through. Something that really caught my attention was when he said, "If you're feeling in a rut you don't have to stay there! You can't just be slumming around thinking that God is going to pull you out when he finally sees you've had enough. You have to DO something about it!"
That is how I felt all last semester. I felt stuck in a rut with no where to go and like God was keeping me there until he decided I had had enough, but that wasn't true at all because that isn't the God we serve. He had me there to teach me something: that I can't do anything apart from him or apart from being fully engaged in His Word. I remember telling people I felt like all semester God was being that parent who, silently, was saying, "You know you're doing something wrong and I'm just going to wait until you figure it out. I'm here when you want to talk."
This Christmas break (as long as it felt) was a good break for me to have because I was able to finally take some breaths and drink in the goodness of the Gospel. I was able to rest in the peace and joy that comes from being fully engaged with the Father and His Word. Now I'm not saying I'm super spiritual all of a sudden and that I've fully grasped what it means to know God, but slowly and surely I hope I am getting there!
The stirring in my heart this Sunday is one of the flag of joy being flown high from the castle of my heart, for the King is indeed in resident there. Happy Sunday Friends!
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