Oil of Gladness

In some instances in life, we feel like we will never live again. It is hard to breathe and all we want to do is to sleep. The grief and devastation are so acute that they constantly prick our soul. We whither up inside and we desire nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die. We resent it when people reach out to us; yet, we also resent it when they fail to extend their sympathy and help. There is a real temptation to withdraw from life and to use our grief as an excuse. Nothing brings us joy, and all of our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling and mock us.

God has a plan and purpose for your life in this very moment, as well as in all of the moments of your future. No person, place or thing can give us more joy than our relationship with Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:8). If they do, then they are idols in our life. If the lack of some person, place or thing robs you of the joy that Jesus provides by His presence in your life, then that is also an idol in your life. God is a jealous God, and He will not tolerate any idols before Him in our heart (Exodus 20:5, 34:14; Deuteronomy 6:15).

The goal is to come to the place in your walk with Him where you can honestly say, “God’s love is enough. Period.” We need nothing else this world has to offer, because we actually believe and live in the fact that God’s love is all we need. Allow God’s Spirit to pour His oil of gladness over your wounds to heal you (Isaiah 61:3). God has a future for you, which does not include the people, the job or the circumstances, which you lost. However, His future for you does include limitless hope and very special promises (Jeremiah 29:11).

Biblical Saints lost everything they owned and loved; yet, in their helpless state, God gave them the oil of gladness, because they loved righteousness and hated wickedness (Psalm 45:7). Jesus is our example. He loved righteousness and hated wickedness also, and He received from God the oil of gladness in His life as well (Hebrews 1:9). The original word for gladness in these texts means to jump for joy with exceeding excitement! Now that’s true happiness! God gives everyone the oil of gladness (Isaiah 61:3).

Are you in mourning today? Receive the oil of gladness from God’s Spirit within you. There is no calamity too great from which God’s Spirit cannot deliver you, if you willingly surrender your will, plans and expectation totally to Him and receive the plans that He has in store for you. I guarantee that it will be greater than anything you could ever even imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21). Do you hate wickedness and love righteousness? Then, receive the oil of gladness for your reward.

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that You set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). You gave His disciples Your joy as well (Acts 13:52). Jesus shared Your truth with His disciples, so their joy would be full (John 15:11). We also receive joy as the fruit of Your Spirit. We thank You for this joy that transcends our circumstances and lot in life. It causes us to make melody in our heart to You (Ephesians 5:19). We serve you during our earthly life with gladness (Psalm 100:2); and with gladness and rejoicing we will enter Your presence when You are ready to call us home (Psalm 45:15). We look forward to dwelling with You in eternity.

Thought for the Day:
Serve the Lord and you will receive His oil of gladness, which will cause you to come before His presence with rejoicing. – Psalm 100:2

Fulfilling Goals

Read: Galatians 5:16-25

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:14

How often do you find yourself rewriting your list of life goals? How many goals have you successfully accomplished? How many did you fail to achieve? Well, I have good news for you! God has a perfect plan for your life that will bring you both fulfillment and excitement. There is never a dull moment when you walk in God’s footsteps for you.

As we pray about His will for us, He opens doors for us, which glorify His name. We may work in an office, school, church, hospital, retail store, beauty shop or garage, but we are doing His will for our life. God’s goals unfold before us as we completely relinquish our will to His will. By examining the apostle Paul’s life, we gain a clear picture of just how exciting life can be when we live for God.

Paul lived a completely surrendered life. All through his epistles to the various churches which he started, Paul gives testimony to God’s provision. Whether he was preaching a sermon on Mars Hill, shipwrecked, beaten or under house arrest, he realized that God was working everything out for his good (Romans 8:28). His goal in life was to exalt Christ whether he lived or died (Philippians 1:20) and he was very successful at it.

Even when life took a turn for the worse, and all hope ebbed from Paul’s heart, he realized that everything he did, even when chained to Roman guards in prison, was for the glory of God (Philippians 1:13). His attitude spoke volumes to the guards and many listened to his message of the Gospel of Christ as he shared courageously and fearlessly with his captors (Philippians 1:14). Paul learned contentment in every situation he found himself in, because he loved living as a vessel for God to work through (Philippians 4:11-12).

Paul lived with an eternal focus (2 Corinthians 4:18). The circumstances in his life had no depressive effect on him, because his joy was always in the Lord (Philippians 4:4). We too are transformed into the image of Christ through the things that we suffer in this life (2 Corinthians 3:18; Hebrews 2:10). Plans that we make for our life bear little fruit, but when we walk in the Spirit we accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:16, 25). As we come to know Him, love Him, worship Him and live for Him, our life contains more joy than we can ever even imagine.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, allow Your light to shine within us so much, that people will see You in us (Matthew 5:16). Help us to be a beacon on a hill (Matthew 5:14-16) and to share the gospel story with everyone who will listen. Enlighten their eyes to see and their ears to hear so that they can join us in Your Kingdom for eternity. Help us to walk in Your will for our life and to be a reflection of You to the world.

Thought for the Day:

Believers greet each new morning with expectancy of what God has in store for us, as well as faith that He will give us everything we need to accomplish His plans in our life.







Thank you, Susan Holsinger, for the use of your photo.

Eternally Minded

Read: Luke 18:29-30

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

 - Hebrews 11:1

 

As I sat on my lanai, drinking a cup of hot cocoa and reveling in the cool breeze blending with the warm sunshine in southern most Florida, I reflected on the fact that I live so far away from my grandchildren who live in Missouri. I despise the fact that I rarely get to see them. Even when I plan a visit, their schedule and mine do not always coincide. I miss them, and they tell me all the time that they miss me.

I know I cannot live in more than one place at one time; so I petitioned God for some way to change my perspective. I did not want to feel this intense anguish over the great gulf of time and space that separates me from my cherished children. I could not do anything to change the situation; so I put it in God’s capable hands.

True to form, God clearly answered me, “Your grandchildren have Godly parents and you will have your grandchildren and their parents with you throughout eternity. I moved you to the southern tip of Florida, because there are people here who will not be in Heaven, if they do not have your and your husband's influence in their lives.”

My initial response was overwhelming joy at this insightful concept. I felt awed and privileged that my Lord and King would use me in such a way. Yet, in spite of the profound nature of God’s reply, I still struggled with submission to His will. This was yet another area of “self” that I needed to lay down on the brazen altar. I did not want to give up quantity time on this earth with my little munchkins. I longed to be involved in their lives on a daily basis. I did not want to be satisfied with an eternal perspective on this issue. I wanted to be with them now, as well as in eternity.

As I observed my response to God’s words, I realize that yet another level of attachment to this world remained entrenched in my soul. This caused the Holy Spirit to drench me with a double dose of conviction. Here lay in me an added area of carnal-mindedness. After over 40 years of walking with God on an intimate basis, I found one more area of my life still way too attached to this earthly realm. Sure, I have no affection for material possessions, worldly success, or recognition of any kind. Now, however, I realized that part of me is still very much bound to this world ~ the grandma part of me.

God is not as interested in our natural family as He is in our spiritual family. Mark 10:29-30, Luke 18: 29-30, and Matthew 19:29 all share this same concept. Luke 21:16,17 even states that some of our natural friends and family may actually deliver us up for persecution and death. Jesus makes it very clear that we will not always get along with, or be physically close to people in our own friend and family circle, due to our relationship and calling in the Lord. Jesus felt this same distance from His own friends and family; and the servant is not greater than her Lord (John 15:20).

The more I thought about it, therefore; the more spiritual excitement filled my soul. In eternity God will free us from all of these natural barriers and conditions that strap us to this earthly sphere. The moment we are absent from this body, we will be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8) and we will know and be known (1 Corinthians 13:12) for eternity.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I am not happy with this situation. I am struggling with laying down my need to enjoy my own dear grandchildren’s company more often. I rely on You to give me both the desire and the power to live out Your will for me in this earthly realm, regardless of the circumstances in my life (Philippians 2:13).

Thought for the Day:

God’s reality looks nothing like our earthly existence.