Have you ever wept during the night because your heart was filled with sorrow?
 
Have you ever cried yourself to sleep because you were distraught over a life situation that burdened you, was breaking your heart, and crushing your spirit?
 
Have you ever soaked your pillow with warm tears because life had turned south and you had no idea what to do to turn things around?
 
Most of us have been there and done the above at one time or another.
 
I believe that the Psalmist David, who penned Psalm 30:5 was speaking from personal experience.
 
“Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.”  Psalm 30:5
 
If you trace David’s life in scripture, you discover that he dealt with many difficult days throughout his earthly existence. He knew firsthand that weeping might last for a night. If David only focused on the weeping times, this verse would be a negative.  But he also knew that mourning was followed by a shout of joy the next morning. So this verse ends up very positive.
 
How can a negative (weeping) become a positive (joy)? And why would God want us to shout with joy in the morning after a night of weeping?  
 
A shout of joy comes in the morning after mourning all night because of who God is and what He wants to do in our hearts.
 
Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came to soothe our sorrow and give us His joy (see John 15:15:11, 16:22). Mourning may be part of life. But joy in the morning is part of the abundant life Jesus paid the price for you and me to have. It is just like God to bring joy after sorrow.   
 
A sorrowful night may seem to last like an eternity. But sorrow has a short lifespan compared to the length of Christ’s joy. And morning does come…. A new day will dawn…. A new beginning…. A fresh start to experience the favor and blessing of God.
 
Psalm 118:24 reminds us to rejoice in each new day.
 
“This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Personalize this verse by confessing: This is the day which the Lord has made; I (your name) will rejoice and be glad in it.
 
David also writes in Psalm 118:15 “The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”
 
Is joyful shouting heard in your house? Or does weeping and mourning fill the rooms of your home?
 
During difficult times, the principle of our verse for this week is this: CRY IT OUT THEN SHOUT IT OUT! 
        
Shout with joy whether you feel like it or not. I admit it is hard to shout when you are hurting and wondering if anything good is going to come out of your painful situation. A shout of joy has power to break sorrow’s grip on our emotions.
 
Shout with joy so God can hear your praise. Shout with joy so Satan and all of hell can hear you and tremble.  Shout with joy to set your course for the day ahead of you. Joyful shouting will put sorrow on the run.  
      
You and I are in trouble if we weep during the night and there is no possibility of a shout of joy in the morning. How hopeless would that be? Thank God we have a promise of joy in the morning.

You may be under tremendous pressure and stress right now. Life may be hard. You may feel overwhelmed by your circumstances. If your nights are currently filled with weeping and mourning, start your morning with a shout of joy!
 
Shout your sorrow away. The joy of the Lord is your strength each and every day.
 
What a way to start the day…. with a shout of joy!
 
“Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10b
 
“He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5
 
“Thou has turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou has loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness; that my soul may sing praise to Thee.”     Psalm 30:11-12a
 
A Word For Your Week: Chase sorrow away with a shout of joy!

​Life is a journey to be enjoyed, not a destination to be endured.
 
I believe we learn this truth from the Lord Jesus Christ. The Hebrew writer says of Jesus that He endured the cross, despised the shame and is now set down at the right hand of God because of “the joy set before Him.”
 
“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the Cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God.” Hebrews 12:2
 
When I think of Jesus, I think of joy.
 
I am convinced that Jesus was a joyful man who enjoyed His life and ministry.
 
If you don’t think so, I invite you to re-read the Gospels through the lens of joy.  Jesus experienced and often expressed joy when He preached the Word, healed the sick, cast out demons, restored broken hearts, raised the dead, and yes, when He died on the cross. Jesus knew joy even in the midst of incredible personal suffering. How could that be? “For the joy set before Him”.  
 
Joy, God’s joy, motivated Jesus throughout His earthly journey. Jesus kept His eyes fixed on the big picture. Though His way was far from easy, the Lord’s life journey was endurable, enjoyable and victorious because joy filled Jesus’ heart.
 
The Lord’s personal joy was based on His God-given cause and call, not circumstances that accompanied His calling. Joy, coupled with love, directed the Lord’s footsteps as He headed to the Cross to provide salvation for you and me.
 
On Easter morning, resurrection joy catapulted Him from the tomb and carried Him to the right hand of the Father in glory once again! And joy will bring Him back one more time to take us to our eternal home in heaven where unrestricted joy will be the order of each and every day! Hallelujah!
 
Please note that we are exhorted to “fix (fasten or rivet) our eyes on Jesus”. Why? So “you will not grow weary and lose heart” serving the Lord (verse 3).
 
When we fix our eyes on Jesus, His joy becomes our joy.
 
Full of His joy, our faith journey will be joyful, not joyless. Joy becomes a mark of maturity as we follow in His footsteps and imitate His joyful lifestyle. Our faith is being perfected, made complete as we enjoy our journey of walking by faith in Jesus Christ who enjoyed His journey fulfilling the Father’s will.
 
So how about you and me? Are we enjoying our journey with Jesus? We should be.   
              
If not, let’s be honest and then adjust our attitude.  Sometimes it is so easy to fall into the subtle trap that we will be happy (joyful) when we arrive. That’s called destination disease. The trap is this: By focusing on the destination, we miss the joy of the journey. When our goal is the end, we neglect to reap the rewards of the means to the end.
 
Destination disease is a major joy stealer. It steals our happiness because it robs us of the joy of the moment. Enjoying life consists of enjoying the moments of life. 
 
Unfortunately, many of us are so uptight and stressed out about arriving at our destination that we miss enjoying the journey along the way.
           
Joy makes the journey of life so much more bearable and enjoyable. Jesus understood this and so did the Hebrew writer. Joy in the journey comes from fixing our eyes on Jesus who enjoyed His journey!
 
Thank you Lord for enjoying your journey so we can enjoy ours.
 
How To Enjoy Your Journey
 

• Thank God for every single day.    Psalm 118:24
• Keep your faith focused on Jesus and today’s unique opportunities.
• Give your all to today’s tasks.
• Take note of the little things throughout your day.
• Take care not to sweat the small stuff.
• Laugh a lot! And laugh at yourself too!
• Rejoice in the Lord when you retire at the end of the day.

 
Are you enduring or ENJOYING your Christian journey?
 
“Finally my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same thing again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.”                                                          Philippians 3:1
 
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”                                                                                                   John 15:11
 
A WORD FOR YOUR WEEK: Enjoy your journey with Jesus!  

Do you find yourself these days shaking then scratching your head and declaring” That doesn’t make sense at all.”
I have and do often when I survey the human landscape. My goodness, am I off base or has our world lost its marbles when it comes to common sense, reasonableness, discernment and wisdom? Non-sense. No sense is the order of the day. I heard a reader or two shout that is the truth!
I have heard some of the stupidest, dumbest, most ridiculous, off-the-wall things come out of the mouths of so called “experts” and those who think they know more than you and me. Gee whiz! The stuff just gets dumber and dumber as the days go by. There are think tanks devoted to coming up with the most idiotic theories and applications imaginable. Powers that be are working tirelessly and without conscience to dumb you and me down.
How does it make sense to pay people not to work? How sensible is it to make economic “quid-pro-quo” deals with enemies whose avowed intent is to destroy us? What has shutting down our society accomplished besides creating anxiety, fear, panic and paranoia? What is wise about tearing down statues, re-writing or erasing history because someone might take offense? Where is the sense in burning down your community? Absolutely ludicrous! Ridiculous! Scratching my head again.
You are thinking about some of those dumb things right now aren’t you?
The men and women of the world system have lost their moral compass. They have no clue what “true north” looks like spiritually, morally, emotionally, relationally, economically or politically. Sadly, to many, “true north” is whatever you want it to be, deem it to be, whatever suits your life view. In other words, it if is true to you it must be true and who gives a rip what anybody else thinks.
Here are some thoughts about what makes sense.
Common (Or Should I Say) Uncommon Sense

• Truth is truth. A lie is a lie. Lies are not truth telling.
• Love is love. Hate is hate. Only God’s love can extinguish hate in a person’s heart.
• Good is good. Good comes from God. Evil is evil. Evil comes from the devil. Good can never be evil and evil will never be good.
• Sin is sin because God says so. Sin is not sin because man thinks it should not be.
• Moral is moral. Immoral is immoral. Immorality can never be moral.
• Purity is pure. Perversion is perverse. Perverse can never be pure.
• Holy is holy. Unholy is unholy. Unholy can only be made holy by the Holy One.
• Light is light. Dark is dark. Light can never be dark and dark can never be light.
• Righteousness is right. Unrighteousness is wrong. Right or wrong in the sight of God is crystal clear.
• Obedience is blessed by God. Disobedience is cursed by God.
• Eternal life through personal belief and faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.

In the book of James in the Bible, the following truth makes sense to me.
“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior in his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and lie against the truth.
This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural and demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil thing.”
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
James makes life clear for us. The world’s so-called wisdom only leads to disorder and evil things. Jealousy and selfish ambition drive worldly wisdom. Is it any wonder some people have so much discord, division, disdain and detestable hatred for each other? The source of the wisdom of the world is Satan. The evil one certainly does not want anyone to make sense of life the way God has designed it. “Wisdom that does not come from above” will destroy us.
On the contrary, wisdom from above, from Almighty God, is everything worldly wisdom is not.
Pursuing, receiving and practicing God’s wisdom leads to life that makes sense. Human relationships flourish when based on peace, harmony, unity, mutual respect and love for one another. That makes sense to me. How about you?
“Wisdom from above” will save and sanctify us when we live our lives according to God’s Word.
My friend, in 2022, study the Bible. Read. Meditate. Obey God’s Word. Then you will easily discern between the false wisdom of this world and the true wisdom of God’s Kingdom.
A word of advice: Give it up if you think you will ever make sense of the world apart from the Kingdom of God. Good sense would be for unsaved people to be saved by the grace of God!
So, let us get about the business of witnessing to the lost before it is too late for them.
“But if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach and it will be given to him.” James 1:5
A Word For Your Week: Life makes sense when it is lived God’s way.

​2022 has arrived.
Despite the lavish, noisy New Year’s Eve parties and celebrations, it is a sad, sorrowful fact that our world is a joyless one.
Of course, the world apart from Christ longs for joy.
Recall “holiday” advertising. Many commercials for Christmas gifts used the joy theme. Wal-Mart: “Joy. Fully.” J.C. Penney: “Joy. Comfort. Peace.” Glade: “Spark Joy.” Applebee’s: “Joy” gift card. Peloton: “Joy in the workout.” (Not so sure about joy in working out!).
The topic of joy pops up everywhere, but it is nowhere, because the world has no idea where real joy comes from.
“Happy New Year” is the hope of most. But happiness and joy are not the same thing. Happiness or unhappiness is circumstantial. Life going well, happy. Life not going well, unhappy.
Joy is relational. I find great joy in my wife and family not because we always get along perfectly but because of our relationship based on love for one another.
 Jesus made it clear where joy comes from. In John 15:11 Jesus taught “These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”  Note “His joy” is made full in us!
Jesus’ joy is real joy!
In John 16:22 Jesus said to the disciples “Therefore now you too have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice; and no one takes your joy away from you.” The Lord knew His closest followers would be sorrowful when He left for heaven. But He assured them He would see them again. They would rejoice and no one, no one could ever take or steal their joy, which is Christ’s joy, from them.
Jesus’ joy cannot be ripped off!
Bottom line: If there is no personal relationship with Jesus, there is no joy.
Without question Christians should be the most joyful people on earth because they have believed in and personally received what God has done for them through the birth, life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.
I Peter 1:3-9 stirs my heart with a spirit of joy and rejoicing every time I read it.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away reserved in heaven for you; who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice even though even now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials; That the proof of your faith being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
AND THOUGH YOU HAVE NOT SEEN HIM, YOU LOVE HIM, AND THOU YOU DO NOT SEE HIM NOW, BUT BELIEVE IN HIM, YOU GREATLY REJOICE WITH JOY INEXPRESSIBLE AND FULL OF GLORY; OBTAINING AS THE OUTCOME OF YOUR FAITH, THE SALVATION OF YOUR SOUL.”
I hope these words stirred your soul like it did mine once again! Glory to God!
You and I have not seen Jesus. But we love Him. The Father has given us a living hope by raising Jesus from the dead! That hope is secure in heaven, imperishable, undefiled and protected by God Himself. Believers in Christ have a reserved seat in glory!
You and I rejoice even in the middle of various trials because our faith, when tested, is being perfected, made complete. Because we believe in Him, we GREATLY REJOICE with JOY INEXPRESSIBLE AND FULL OF GLORY!
Great rejoicing. Joy inexpressible. Joy that mere words are inadequate to describe. Joy that is off the emotional charts. Joy that can only be traced to Christ’s presence in a believer’s heart!
Joy inexpressible cannot be captured by words, but when you got it, you know it!!!!!
Oh, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Knowing the above how can we do anything less in 2022 than live our life overflowing with inexpressible joy!
Wake up every day with Christ’s joy. Get out of bed with a song of joy to the Lord in your heart and on your lips. Put a huge smile on your face that radiates the love of Christ. Walk with a bounce in your step that says I am rejoicing that I am saved through faith in Jesus. Share with others Jesus’ joy through your attitude, countenance, words and deeds.  
 Joy inexpressible can and must be shared with a world that is longing for the joy of the Lord. 2022 is ripe with opportunities to share with searching souls the joy of knowing Jesus.
Whatever your New Year’s Resolutions may be, as a Christian, I urge you to consider that you will have an attitude in 2022 of inexpressible joy because of your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the joy of the Lord flow from you into everyone’s life you meet!
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
‘For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17
“And these things I write to you that your joy may be made complete.” I John 1:4
 A Word For Your Week: Make 2022 the year of inexpressible joy in your heart.