Last Monday night, we gathered once again to incline our ears and our hearts to the word of the Lord spoken through Bo. I found this Monday even more engaging and insightful than the first. The conversation it invoked, even through the teenage ladies, was rich and thought provoking.
Bo gave us a lot to meditate on and this is just a little piece, but it was about a journey; a journey that would take us into the presence of His joy. We learned that having joy and being in its presence is a choice. Psalm 16 tells us that God has been assigned to us - He's where we'll find refuge; He's where we can put our trust. In Him we can hide and find safety and peace.
Bo used the analogy of the contents of a food pantry after shopping day. It is full of the things we need and some of what we just plain want (like those Oreo cookies that were on sale.) The food is there, sitting on the shelf, ready for us to grab whatever we need, whenever we want it. Bo showed us, through God's word, how He's there for us, like that pantry. He's there with the things we need and His arms are open wide, just like the pantry doors, always welcoming us to come find whatever it is we are in need of. Yet, in Psalm 16, we see that some of us, in the midst of His abundance, will only grab a saltine, saying we've had enough; we don't need anymore. We have the opportunity to be filled to the brim, to overflowing with joy and peace, wisdom and understanding, and yet we don't take what God has to offer. We walk away with morsels, unfulfilled and wanting. Here, we clearly have a choice to take all God has for us, yet there are those of us who stand on the sidelines, striving for what we need without His help, His blessing, His provision, His joy.
The end of this lesson is, "Serving Him without ever being with Him will always lead to doubt about who He is". When we're in doubt about who He is then we're not likely to come to Him for our needs and desires. When we're in doubt about who He is then we don't fully get a picture of who we are in Him and how He really sees us. When we don't know who we are it's hard to receive the joy we're intended to have.
If this resonates with you or you're wondering what is this talk about joy and how can I have it, then please come and join us Monday, April 4, 2011, at 7pm, at Lincoln City Church, as we discover more about the joy God wants us to walk in.
3 comments:
I loved this session. At our table we discussed how we all need to study the Word more often but knowing and doing at 2 different things. We all agreed to hold each other accountable and to purposefully seek the Lord more in the days ahead. I so appreciated having these ladies support!
Yes, and i was one that agreed on the value of meeting with God in the morning, giving Him the first of my day -- but also admitting that i am not a morning person and find it hard to get up early!
So.... God apparently heard our convo last Monday night because 2 mornings that week my alarm went off AND I DIDN'T SET IT! =) It truly startled me because 1)it was loud and 2)i knew i hadn't set it myself! So either God Himself set it or perhaps He used my toddler button-loving son! haha
But it has been so good meeting with Him! His joy permeated my days and really kept me afloat in the waves of daily life!
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