“The singers as well as the players of flutes will say, “All my springs and sources of joy are in you [Jerusalem, city of God].””
‭‭PSALM‬ ‭87:7‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Where do you look for joy? So often Christians know the Christian-y right answer to say, yet we don’t always practice this. It is good to enjoy friends, experiences, and hobbies, to treasure every moment with children and grandchildren and others we love. But when all of it is stripped away—the money, the possessions, your health, your family—what is left?

Jesus. Like the cool waters of a spring-fed river is the refreshment that comes only from Him. Every single day we can drink at this life-giving stream to restore the desert of our souls. That’s where the joy comes from.

Teach me Your way, Yahweh,
and I will live by Your truth.
Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name,
I will praise You with all my heart, Lord my God,
and will honor Your name forever.

Psalm 86:11 (HCSB)

Have you ever been through a season of intense trial which left you humbled at the foot of the Cross, wanting to know God in a more personal, intimate way and ready to follow Him? This is the heart God desires for us, from us–a teachable heart ready to seek Him continually as the source of strength, wisdom, and single-minded focus on Him.

Seek the Holy Spirit’s direction and guidance as you read and study your Bible, asking God to give you understanding of the message He has for you today. Meditate on the words, and seek to live by His truth, even when you find it in discord with the messages of the world which try to confound you. No matter the circumstances you face on a daily basis, keeping your eyes focused on the Cross of Christ will keep the path you walk straight. As you do all this you will grow in healthy ‘fear” of God–a reverential awe, worshipful submission and obedient respect of Him. The natural outpouring of this is praise, worship, and adoration of the One who has saved you from the pit.

Where are you in this faith journey today?

Happy are the people whose strength is in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a source of springwater;
even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.
They go from strength to strength;
each appears before God in Zion.

Psalms 84:5-7 HCSB

Have you ever gone on a vacation that had all kinds of things that didn’t go as planned? My husband and I still laugh about one camping spot on a lake where the park ranger referenced, “the breeze blows freely.” We about got blown away during the night and had to pack up! This remains one of our favorite vacation stories.

This life is such a journey. While keeping our eyes trained on the Cross of Christ for navigation, it is important to also look around and enjoy the ride in all it’s wildness. The rough times are when God tends to grow us the most, providing blessing after blessing in how He meets our needs through others, creating sweet memories amidst the bitterness of suffering and sorrow. This is when joy finds us. His strength fills our spirits, fueling us for the next leg of the journey.

Are you letting God turn your struggle into refreshment?

“God, do not keep silent. Do not be deaf, God; do not be idle. See how Your enemies make an uproar; those who hate You have acted arrogantly.
Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like straw before the wind.
Cover their faces with shame so that they will seek Your name Yahweh.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭83:1-2, 13, 16‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

What do you do when someone goes on the attack against you or someone you love? Perhaps it’s an attack on the oppressed, abused, poor or simply someone in despair who becomes the target of unjust ridicule. Maybe you are watching a wayward soul spiraling down as they try to live apart from God.

When others become demeaning, hurtful, vengeful, and oppressive the easiest thing to do is to counter back in a war of words. When the person you love is on a path to nowhere good, resorting to lectures becomes almost reflexive in nature.

David minced no words in his request to God to go after these enemies who were demonstrating hate for God in their treatment of God’s people. As he worked through his anger he eventually came to a place of asking God to bring shame upon them for one purpose–to draw them to Himself.

Who can you pray for that needs to be drawn to God, to let His love break down the hardened walls of their heart?

“God has taken His place in the divine assembly; He judges among the gods: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and needy; save them from the power of the wicked.” They do not know or understand; they wander in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭82:1-5‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

How often do you get brutally honest with God about your frustration with the injustices you see in the world? He promises to be Father to the fatherless (Ps 68:5), to provide rescue for the truly oppressed (Ps 72:14) and to judge the wicked (Eccl 3:17). So what is a thinking person to make of the horrific crimes against humanity including mass murders, suicide bombers and sex trafficking as well as abuse of women and children, neglect of the elderly, and inequality surrounding us in the world? Where is God in all this?

There are no easy answers, but we must hold onto we know to be true. First, God IS here. He’s right here going through the mess with us. Jesus intercedes for us as we cry out to God (Rom 8:26). Second, God gives us more than we can bear on our own apart from Him to show us our weakness and need for Him, but God will also give us grace, if we ask, to makes us sufficient through Him (2Cor 9:8). Third, just as our Father uses trials to purify us and grow us spiritually (James 1:1), He also will clear out the dross, the impure wicked ones who grieve Him with their disobedience. (Ps 119:119).

When it comes to your response to injustice, will you be found faithful to God, or will you be found like chaff on the threshing room floor, fruitless and drifting in the wind (Ps 35:5)?

“Lord God of Hosts,
how long will You be angry
with Your people’s prayers?
You fed them the bread of tears
and gave them a full measure
of tears to drink.
You make us quarrel with our neighbors;
our enemies make fun of us.
Restore us, God of Hosts;
look on us with favor, and we will be saved.”

Psalm 80:4-7 HCSB
Israel was in a national crisis. God’s chosen people who had known what it was to feast on bread from heaven, manna, were now being fed tears. They had become a source of jokes for neighboring enemies.

Of this situation theologian and preacher Charles Spurgeon said,
“They find mirth in our misery, comedy in our tragedy, salt for their wit in the brine of our tears, amusement in our amazement. It is devilish to sport with another’s griefs; but it is the constant habit of the world which lieth in the wicked one to make merry with the saints’ tribulations; the seed of the serpent follow their progenitor and rejoice in evil.”

God was angry with Israel. These rebellious people should have been recounting all the ways God had been faithful to them and pressing on obediently in that hope. Instead, they were unfaithful and disobedient.

But God was not done with them, had not washed his hands of them. When Israel turned their hearts back to Him, He was “faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (John 1:9 HCSB)

In what ways have you in the past or are currently rebelling against God? Are you trying to go it alone, do things your way? Has He gotten your attention?

God of our salvation, help us—
for the glory of Your name.
Deliver us and atone for our sins,
because of Your name. Then we, Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,
will thank You forever;
we will declare Your praise
to generation after generation.

~Psalm 79:9, 13 (HCSB)

When was the last time you asked God for help? More importantly, why did you ask for help? Did it have to do with your personal financial, social or material gain?

The psalmist here asks for forgiveness of sin–to wipe the slate clean– and to be delivered from returning to that sin so that God would be glorified. This wasn’t about personal gain but about making God’s name famous through the generations. Deliverance from a life enslaved to sin should make all of us want to tell others about His goodness for the rest of our days. There is no greater gift than Christ laying down His life for us so that we could have a relationship with the living God. What are you asking for today?

I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and He will hear me.
I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.
My hands were continually lifted up
all night long;
I refused to be comforted.
~Psalms 77:1-2 HCSB
When you are down where do you seek solace? The bottom of a bottle? The latest fashion clothing? A five-star meal?

Why not instead let despair drive you to God? Choosing to seek the Yahweh during those times when you least feel His presence will take you to Sanctuary–that place of sacred refuge where the Most Holy dwells. Seek Him continually, pursuing Him vigilantly, and you will find Him. Refuse the cheaper forms of fleeting consolation in favor of Divine Presence that fills the darkest corners of your soul, and in that space your sorrow becomes sacred.

“God is in the sanctuary.” John Darby, theologian

But from there, you will search for the Lord your God, and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul.
~Deuteronomy 4:29