2 minute read.
Daily Reading: Job 25-27 GW; Psalms 26 GW; Colossians 3 GW
God’s word teaches and encourages.
When my friend Denny died after a long illness, I spoke at his memorial. Bedridden for months, minutes before I was to speak, God brought this verse to mind:
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Phil. 4:8 NLT)
In my moment of grief, God knew how to make me smile. As I pondered this verse, thinking of my friend, I began to smile. As I said at his memorial that day, Denny was all of these things, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy. And now he is in the arms of his heavenly Father, completely healed and whole again. My heart found joy thinking of Denny’s peace.
Fix your thoughts on God.
Setting your mind on God, through His word, will help you find His peace. Only when we are intentional about what we think will our actions reflect our thoughts. Even in the midst of heartache, God’s word can penetrate the pain. Releasing our feelings to God helps us to move through difficult situations. Journeying with God means continuing to move forward and through our pain.
“The best way out is always through.” Robert Frost
Since I’ve spent a lifetime trying to avoid pain, I’ve come to realize, it’s unavoidable. Hurt is part of growth. But we must move through the hurt to find the joy. Experiencing the pain will help us heal from it. If we didn’t love so deeply we wouldn’t feel sadness. In order to appreciate a good day, we must have bad ones. Life is a mixture of both.
Filling our hearts with God’s hymns, psalms and songs help us to move through the pain of life. God’s timeliness brings joy at the right moment. As we fix our thoughts on God, He’ll make us want to sing.
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Lord, thank You for making us smile when we need it most. Forgive us for getting stuck in our pain. Help us today move through the hurts we feel, finding joy as we focus our thoughts on You. Fill us withl Your word, create joyful hearts in us today. Fill our lungs with songs of praise. IJNIP. Amen
Question for reflection
What verse brings joy to your heart?
