As I walked to the front door, the expression on his face revealed the joy in his heart.
My wife and I once had the privilege of keeping two of our grandsons. When the younger of the two was just shy of two and still learning to balance as he walked and ran, he would meet me at the front door every day with a huge smile on his face and his arms waving. If I didn’t pick him up immediately, he cried. His older brother, however, was content to continue watching television or doing whatever he was doing.
The psalmist found joy in God’s company presently and looked forward to experiencing the same joy throughout eternity.
“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever” (Psalm 16:1l NLT).
So often our happiness in God’s presence is tied to something he has done for us. God promises to supply our needs, and when he comes through, we experience joy.
But if he doesn’t supply them the way we anticipated or think he should have, our joy is tainted—or even absent. Our goal is to reach the pinnacle of finding joy in the sheer presence of God, regardless of what our circumstances are. Relishing in the relationship itself—even if there are no frills.
If we’re not careful, the passage of time—along with busyness—can steal the first love we had for God. My oldest grandson once used to run to the door to meet me, as his younger brother later did. Age and interest in other things eventually curtailed his excitement over seeing Pop.
The younger loved for me to stroll him when I first got home. Although his vocabulary was very limited at the time, he had ways of letting me know what he wanted. Neither can we have a normal verbal conversation with God, but if we look for joy in his presence, his spirit will speak to us, and we’ll eventually find joy from simply being in his presence.
Learn to discover your peace and joy in the presence of God.
Photo by Margaret Weir on Unsplash
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