I just read quite possibly one of the funniest pieces of scripture I've ever come across. Maybe its not THAT funny. But it is the only recorded time of God calling someone out about their laughter. And something about that just tickles me.
Genesis 18:
13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.
And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
Does anyone else just get cracked up at God shouting "No, but you did laugh!" Gets me every time. I think its awesome. Well, anyways. Moving right along.
Today, I witnessed a very refreshing site. I was running across the Walking Bridge again today, and out in front of me there was another man running. Probably about 30 years of age. And on the bridge there was a small flock of pigeons. This man proceeds to spread his arms out like wings, flap them frantically, and spring through the flock of birds, causing them to scatter. Best part about the whole thing?!?! He turned around to run back through them again! As I watched this whole thing occur, in the back of my head I'm like well... That guy is making a fool of himself. Running around flapping his arms like that and all. And then as I continued my run I thought, when was the last time I was THAT joyful? At the point where in one moment I could take so much pleasure in such a simple and seemingly unimportant action. When was the last time my heart was in the position where I could be cheerful, and not weighed down by the troubles of this world. Honest answer? A while. I'm sure we can all relate. Life just seems too busy and hard and important to flap our arms around and run through some pigeons. (You can replace the pigeon incident with any act of playful fun you want. All the same.) The point being, I think a lot of thetime I allow the troubles of this world to completely rob me of my joy in Christ. And I forget to experience that on a regular basis. So, rather I'm making it there or not, what I'm getting at is the overwhelming joy that we have been given as a result of salvation, and how that joy should be overflowing into our lives DAILY.
(If you're curious, this is this man's interpretation of rejoicing. Feel free to create your own, and send it to me, and we'll do a funny rejoicing photo blog. Doubt I'll get any, but it was worth a shot!)
Psalm 63:3-5
"Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips."
The loving kindness of our God is BETTER than life! Your soul should be satisfied with God and God alone, and your mouth should praise Him with joyful lips. I think sometimes It's important to take that step back from our trials and our stresses, and come back to the realization that you have been given a gift that is so much larger than your time here on this earth. A gift that when this earth fades away in time will go on for all of eternity. All the pain and worry in your life is fleeting. It too will pass. And the day WILL come when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall profess the majesty of Our Lord. And we will sing His praises forever, and dwell with Him in the place He has prepared for us. That alone is reason enough for us to rejoice. No matter what you may be facing in life, no matter how bad things get nothing this world will ever do can take away that joy and hope that you have. It is an everlasting promise, and it brings me back to probably my favorite verse.
2 Samuel 23:5
“Although my house is not so with God,
Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant,
Ordered in all things and secure.
For this is all my salvation and all my desire;
Will He not make it increase?"
No comments:
Post a Comment