A Jolt of Joy

Psalms 16 

1 KEEP and protect me, O God, for in You I have found refuge, and in You do I put my trust and hide myself.

2 I say to the Lord, You are my Lord; I have no good beside or beyond You.

3 As for the godly (the saints) who are in the land, they are the excellent, the noble, and the glorious, in whom is all my delight.

4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who choose another god; their drink offerings of blood will I not offer or take their names upon my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen and assigned portion, my cup; You hold and maintain my lot.

6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage.

7 I will bless the Lord, Who has given me counsel; yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.

8 I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my inner self] rejoices; my body too shall rest and confidently dwell in safety,

10 For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the place of the dead), neither will You suffer Your holy one [Holy One] to see corruption. [Acts 13:35.]

11 You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. [Acts 2:25-28, 31.]

 

Devotional

Have you ever wondered why you have not been able to tap into the miraculous, fulfilling and ultimate joy that the Bible talks about? Perhaps your frustration stems from the fact that you have been looking for joy in all the wrong places. If you believe that an impressive college education, a spotless home or 5 well-behaved children are your password into the Kingdom of Joy ... you have it all wrong. If you somehow think that losing 27.5 pounds or marrying the person of your dreams or being the owner of a passport filled with impressive stamps from exotic and far-away places will give you a money-back guarantee to perfect and perpetual joy ... then once again my friend ... you have it all wrong. Joy is found in one place and one place only ... "In His presence is fullness of joy!"
If you desire a joy so pervasive that it will trump every other circumstance in life then you must spend time in the presence of the Lord. If you are desperate for a joy that will literally defy all of your life's depressing situations then you must choose to marinate in His presence.
How do you do that? Well, it's really not that difficult. You choose to make it a priority to spend time reading your Bible every day ... you might turn on a worship CD and even sing along with it! If you are very bold and extremely desperate ... you will choose to lift your hands in the air as an act of surrender while you worship. Another exciting option is to spend time alone in prayer every day. Just you and Jesus. Simply close the door to your bedroom and kneel beside your bed as you have a heart to heart conversation with the one who knows you the best and loves you the most.
When you get up off your knees and walk out your bedroom door in order to face the world ... you will find that you are not alone. You have a new best friend to walk through the day with you. What is the name of your new BFF? You can simply call this friend ... Joy!