November 16, 2014
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Joyful in a Joyless World

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Loving Lord, my choices are gifts to You. Guide me in my decision making today.

Read Psalm 92:1-15

[1] A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day. It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, [2] proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, [3] to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. [4] For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. [5] How great are your works, LORD, how profound your thoughts! [6] Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand, [7] that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever. [8] But you, LORD, are forever exalted. [9] For surely your enemies, LORD, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. [10] You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured on me. [11] My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes. [12] The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; [13] planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. [14] They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, [15] proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“Joy is the result of being loved by God. When his undeserved grace and forgiveness penetrate through the thick layers of self-doubt and self-negation, we begin to feel the surge of joy” (Lloyd John Ogilvie). God wants to develop this character trait in us.

Jewish people recite this psalm daily in their morning prayers, and three times on the Sabbath. Its underlying celebratory tone proclaims God’s praises, extolling his wisdom, mighty acts and blessings to those who trust in him. We do not know how it was sung in the Temple, but the call to give it musical expression has been met in compositions by Franz Schubert and many others.

Expressing joy (4) in Scripture is not just the outpouring of emotion, or the physical use of voice or body. The deep thanksgiving and happiness that characterizes joy is more than that. Joy in the Bible is the underlying response to God’s love and saving power. The weekly Sabbath is the appointed time in Jewish life to celebrate God’s own joy as he finished the work of creation and saw it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). God’s joy in his freedom and power to make all things “very good” is then shared with us, his creatures. He has done great things, and therefore we are glad (4). In a world that has often lost sight of God and is encumbered with the sufferings of humanity, joy is a greatly needed quality.

Our joy grows as our lives are directed and transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit. Joy is a gift of God and a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22; 1 Thess. 5:16), rather than a result of human activity, but we are commanded to “rejoice always” (Phil. 4:4), seeing this as God’s will for our lives. Joy is an indication that we are maturing in faith and grounded in truth, thanksgiving and hope. Joy completes our expression of praise. Do we always feel like being joyful? Sadly not, especially when trials and problems face us, but here the psalmist expresses his confidence in God and praises him joyfully. So should we.

Apply

Do you obey the command to “rejoice always”? Write your own psalm of joy in God’s creation, redemption and restoration, while recognizing the obstacles in your path.

Closing prayer

Lord God, how great is Your faithfulness. I pray that I may flourish for You and be filled with joy.

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