Devotion: Feeling God's Joy

"As the deer thirsts for streams of water, so I thirst for you, God." Psalm 42:1

As I was driving home from dropping the boys off at school, I looked up at the sky to see an incredible array of colors. My breath catches and tears make the edges of my eyes tingle. The words to Building 429's song spoke to my soul, "All I know is I'm not home yet. This is not where I belong..." Before I left to take the boys to school, the words to the scripture from today's Bible study {Colossians 2:16-17} were pulsing in my heart as well. "So do not let anyone make rules for you about eating and drinking or about a religious feast, a New Moon Festival, or a Sabbath day. These things were like a shadow of what was to come. But what is true and real has come and is found in Christ." The Lord was revealing to me how important it is to make worship about HIM and not about all the little things that generally come with worship {getting dressed nicely, speaking nicely to others, singing praise songs, and taking some serious notes during the sermon...just to name a few}. He was reminding me that none of that means anything if my worship is not truly about focusing on Him.

So as I was gasping at the incredible sunrise, singing my heart out with the radio, and rejoicing at the refresher my heart had received, an incredible peace came over me, such a peace that it literally made my skin tingle. No kidding. My heart was filled with such JOY. It was almost as if I could smell the sweet fragrance of my Lord. Just as the scent of Old Spice reminds me of my husband, and my heart is filled with joy and excitement about seeing my husband again, there is just something about breathing in the scent of the Lord that fills my entire being with joy, with happiness...with peace. This does not always happen. And I don't think that it's because the Lord doesn't want me to enjoy that peace, but it's my own heart that blocks me from from such joy. I searched my memory of other times I got to feel God's joy with such intensity, and I realized that this normally happens when I let my heart AND mind be attuned to God. It's normally when I'm camping somewhere in the mountains, or when I am gazing at the stars near the ocean, or when I am at quiet time at a retreat. Those times my heart is just ready to embrace the Lord, to drink in His peace, to smell his fragrance.

But it doesn't always have to be during "mountaintop experiences" or "oceanside revealings". God wants us to experience that joy and peace in our every day lives. He wants us to acknowledge His presence, His ever-present presence. I cannot explain how incredibly special it is to experience Him. I cannot explain the immense love that comes with knowing you are snuggled right there in Jesus's arms. If you are missing out, man, you are truly missing out.

Find that joy today, unbeliever. And for you, believer, take a moment to make your heart attuned to His presence. Breath in deep, and feel God's joy today.

Be blessed, everyone!!