Be Joyful - Today's Insight - December 10, 2024
EVEN THOUGH I DON'T LIKE IT, I'm tempted to stand back, shrug, and agree with the wag who wrote:
This is the age
Of the half-read page
And the quick hash
And the mad dash
The bright night
With the nerves tight
The plane hop
With the brief stop
The lamp tan
In a short span
The big shot
In a good spot
And the brain strain
And the heart pain
And the catnaps
Till the spring snaps
And the fun's done.
My contention is that it doesn't have to be that way, at least not that last line. I refuse to force hilarity into the backseat every time responsibility takes the wheel. If the fun's done, it's because we didn't want it around, not because it didn't fit. To keep it there simply calls for some creativity and a little extra energy . . . maybe a surprise every now and then.
It really is what ought to mark us as believers.
A deep sense of awe came over them all. . . . And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. . . . They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity-all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people.
You have a fresh opportunity to evaluate who you spend your most valuable time with. Are you surrounded by joyful people who love the Lord, enjoy laughter and fellowship, and who open their homes with gladness? We certainly have a responsibility to minister to the downhearted, the discouraged, and the deprived. We must do that with all our hearts and in the Spirit of Christ who calls us. But in those remaining times, let's hang out with people who lift us up not bring us down. Godly people who live life with a contagious joy . . . what a perfect combination! Let the fun begin!
Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord . . . Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved. The full devotional can be purchased at tyndale.com or wherever books are sold.
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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