Pictured: Route 93 north along the Continental Divide in Idaho. A spectacular road less travelled in America.
“The Joy of the Lord is my strength, the joy of knowing Jesus… and deep down in my soul, I’m forgiven and free. His mercies are new every morning, His steadfast love will never cease. The joy of the Lord is my salvation… so beautiful to me.”
I sang this song at a country church in Idaho last Sunday morning and was challenged to listen to what I was singing… Sometimes the words of a song can be sung with the mouth but not really expressed from the heart.. A dangerous place to be.. When your faith loses its soul it becomes a cold religion. That’s when you will find yourself becoming critical and condemning of others and you look at life through a half empty cup rather than a cup half full.
I’ve found myself becoming negative and anxious over matters of the ministry and why finances are low, why things are not happening like I want them to be. That causes discouragement and doubt. That’s when the enemy starts gaining ground he does not own. As I sang the words to the song into the microphone I knew the Holy Spirit was saying “Let the joy of the Lord fill your cup with the goodness, the grace, mercy and peace that can only come from the Lord”. Yes!!! His mercies are brand new every morning!! Don’t let the enemy remind you of past failures and rob you of the future you do have!!
Let the Joy of the Lord empower you and fill you!!
Then get back into the action! The world needs more joyful believers!! His steadfast Love never ceases so let’s be driven by the Love of Christ in a broken world!
Godspeed.
Steve
