V.O.D.: Nehemiah 8:10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
M.O.M.: Ephesians 4:31
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.(English Standard Version)
Today's reading: EZEKIEL 45-46 1 JOHN 2
The Thrill of Life
There are many definitions of the thrills in this life. When we are young, there are things like running through the banner with the rest of the team at a football game. There is the opening tip-off in a basketball game. The first cheer on the sidelines-the first date-the first kiss...
There is the roller coaster and the high dive platform. The crack of the bat on a homerun. Who can forget the first time they yelled 'Bingo!'. There are those who have received great success in scholastics.
Some of us have never experienced any of these but have stood at the edge of great natural wonders and have been in awe. Some know what it is like to reach the 'second wind' when running alone and the feeling that brings.
The first time a child reaches up and says 'Mama' or 'Daddy'. The joy of successes of your children. How about the joys of just having children? How about the joy of seeing a special needs child realize a small success?
When someone you know and love recovers from a bad illness, this brings great relief and joy.
We could make this list forever. But what about you-what about you this very minute? In the still of the morning, is God's joy real in your life? How long has it been since you have felt a thrill?
At some point in life a thrill is good. But some of us cannot stand adrenaline anymore. Really? Yes, really.
There is a point where one realizes that a thrill seeking life cannot be maintained and that thrills are just moments that are treasures that hang in our memories as beautiful works of art.
When we walk out of the gallery of thrills into everyday life, do we look for the next big thing? How are we satisfied once we have been to the top of Mt. Everest? The better question might be, "Will you spend your entire life looking for the next thrill?"
Jesus said that He came to give us abundant life(John 10:10)-not abundant thrills in life.
Jesus said, "If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love...I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:11
“The joy of the Lord is my strength” is found in Nehemiah 8:10 and after the Lord brought children of Israel out of exile. They had heard the law read and were filled with remorse and guilt and began to weep and Nehemiah said,
"Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Thrills are great. They are always short-lived.
The joy of the Lord is eternal. It takes a humble heart to live in this joy. It takes a heart full of the Holy Spirit to fully know this truth. It takes a heart that seeks God and His righteousness and His kingdom to live in this divine peace but we only have to die to self to get there-we do not have to wait until this life is over.
The fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control(Galatians 5:22-23) The word thrill is absent from this list but this is thrilling.
The real thrill of life is not an adrenaline rush or an emotional explosion.
The thrill of life is the love of God and realizing what it means to share that love and see God's love free the blind soul and reveal life abundant to the once lost.
The thrill of life is audience with the King of the universe Himself. You and I have just that. Not just that, but God calls us to be with Him constantly. He calls us to realize that He is with us constantly and will never leave us.
God Himself-in Christ Jesus in us-this is the thrill of Life.
Stop looking. He is here-right now. Be still and know He is God and He is completely in love with you. He is all yours.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Forgive my searching elsewhere for a 'feeling'. I will seek You. Thank You for Your unwavering love for me. Help me see the needs around me.
Comments