FAITH CAPSULE: With joy, become present in His presence.
Acts 16
In your worship (serving or praising God) disallow worrying but allow joy to be present, so you can be present in His presence. The Psalmist stated in Psalm 16:11, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy…” Think of it, if you have missed His presence, how can you claim to have worshiped Him? Many services are being rendered unto Him, but only the Lord knows how many are actually getting to His presence. Worshiping God can be looked at from different angles, but it has to be in the fullness of joy. Worshiping God is not only a religious celebration whereby religious program thrives or where emotions are high. Worshiping God can be in a time of great challenges where all ways to having life abundantly has become a thing of frustration or stagnation.
The apostle Paul and Silas demonstrated what worshiping in a time of challenges with joy could do in Acts 16:25-26, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. ” What happened to Paul and Silas was not a make-believe story, it was a true life documentation, that is written for our learning. Worshiping God to gain His presence is only possible through joy.
It is important to know and constantly praise God with joy but not with burden that follows man to the place of worship. Paul and Silas were at the point of death, but they did not let their challenge interfered their worshiping of God. Paul and Silas must have praised with joy when God showed up for their deliverance from the prison of life. Truly, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth…” (Psalm 48:1-2) By going through the pages of the Bible, it should not take forever to clearly identify that joy is the key for living a victorious life. Isaiah 12:3, “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” By virtue of Paul’s experience, he stated in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Without joy, God is not accessible. Laughing or smiling is not an expression of rejoicing, before Him. Rejoicing goes deeper into the heart and it is about knowing and trusting that He is beautiful for all situations.
Prayer for today: Ask for the joy of the Lord to fill you up; ask for His to joy overwhelm you in every area of life.