Devotional 5-22-09

Joy
Do you have joy in your life? Is there something in your life that is so very special that you feel like you have arrived at a special point of having heaven here on earth?

About six years ago our minister asked during his Sunday sermon how many of us have joy in our lives every day. Do you remember this? There was just one person who admitted by raising his hand to having joy each day.

I had just lost the love of my life, but I knew that this was a message that I needed to hear.

Look for the joy, find the joy, hold onto the joy.

I knew that this must now be one of the missions of my life: -to find and hold onto the joys around me. According to the dictionary, joy is happiness, very glad feelings, great pleasure, delight or anything causing such feelings.

Just this week we read in the newspaper that we are the lowest in the country in the happiness poll. Many people weigh their happiness based on money or status in life, or waiting for others to compliment. Last week I heard a person on TV whose greatest joy was getting to meet a sports super-star. Perhaps we need to look in a different place to find our happiness.

Paul tells us in Galatians 5 that we have gifts which are known as the fruits of the spirit. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control

All we need to do is to look within ourselves for these most precious gifts.

Now that we know what the real gifts are, let’s turn to the greatest gift -- that someone would die for you or me, that they take the pain for us. Where is the joy here? As we approached Easter during Lent, we were looking for the joy. Even on the darkest day, we can find joy if we look at this act. As Christians we are blessed by this, and it is now our duty to pass this joy onto those with whom we come in contact. .

Fill us with joy, let us share this joy for this is the commission that you give us. In your son’s name, amen.

Marilyn Holleron

Please remember Floyd Taylor's family in your prayers. Floyd, one of our devotional writers, died last Friday morning.