Daily Devotional

Scripture: Psalm 30:5 – “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Most days I have a lot of JOY. I know it is a gift from the Lord. He is the ONLY one who can fill my cup to overflowing. Sometimes, I get in a place where I can’t feel that JOY. If I am stressed, overwhelmed, or in the middle of a spiritual battle of some kind, it can feel like someone punched a hole in my cup. The truth is I have failed to keep my eyes fixed on HIM. I am too busy focusing on the difficulty, challenge, or situation. Yesterday morning I was working on several things, I was frustrated and overwhelmed. I got up and went to the kitchen to top off my coffee. I look up and I see my JOY cup (the one in the photo) and suddenly, I burst into tears. I stood there sobbing. I realized my cup of JOY hasn’t felt full at all for a while. I was too busy looking at my challenges, struggles, and frustrations. My eyes hadn’t been fully fixed on my Lord Jesus. Ugh!! I do hate it when I get to that place. Life is full of challenges, struggles, and frustrations. It’s just the nature of this fallen world. However, I have to intentionally choose what I am going to focus on. I sat down and began to pray, asking him to help me to fix my eyes on HIM. As I did that he led me to some scripture, reminded me of some things I had forgotten. Things that really encouraged my heart, tremendously. I still have the challenges, but my eyes are fixed on HIM. I almost didn’t write a devotional today because of the challenges, but felt let to share it, instead. So, no matter what our difficulties, trials…whatever you call them may be, Jesus is the KEY!! I want you to be filled with his JOY. To have your cup filled to overflowing. I challenge you to stop RIGHT NOW.. Stop and ask him to fix your eyes on HIM. Then you will be positioned, in a place of surrender, and allow him to do what only HE can do!

JOY – In Nehemiah 8 God’s people are grieving. Why? In context, it is most likely over their sin. The realization of past sins and the weight of God’s law. He tells them don’t grieve, for the JOY of the Lord is your strength. Life is tough. We trip and stumble at times….BUT GOD! I praise him for his love, mercy, grace, and tenderness. He loves us so!! All he desires is that we would get over ourselves and come to HIM. Let’s just allow ourselves time to curl up in his arms and be held. To just fall into his fantastical, amazing, and abundant grace, mercy, and love. Let go and soak it up…even thought the struggles are real! Put yourself in TIME OUT with him and get that attitude adjustment. I know I need it, and I bet you do too.

Now…you and I know how hard it is to NOT grieve when we are struggling with life. Being frustrated, discouraged, and even angry is super easy. Battling with painful situations, our mistakes, the mistakes of others, death, illness and the like will grieve our souls. BUT GOD! Remember, stop, curl up and take a TIME OUT in those everlasting arms. It is ONLY the supernatural work of God that can fill us with JOY. GENUINE JOY. It is a gift – it is a supernatural filling of our cup. Nothing and no one can bring THAT kind of JOY. The kind that allows us to be JOYFUL even in the midst of struggle. The kind of JOY that brings peace in the midst of life’s storms. David, and his men returned from Ziglag in 1 Samuel 30. They returned to find their camp had been raided. Everyone had been taken captive, he and his men were filled with grief. Some of the men were so angry that they were plotting to kill David. But it says David encouraged himself in the Lord. It took an act of surrender, tapping into the relationship he had with God, in order to do this. You can’t tap into something you do not have. He had a history, a foundation he knew he could count on, even in the middle of this horrible situation. To encourage yourself in the Lord is to shift your grief, frustration, weariness, sadness, anger, whatever your struggle may be. They KEY is to shift your focus on the LORD. That is when the Lord will work to encourage and strengthen you. The situation isn’t a surprise to God. If it’s been allowed in your life, it passed through his providential fingers, first! So, it would be wise to shift your eyes, your focus, as David did. Shift your focus onto the one who knows how to get you through your challenging circumstances. Then, he, through the Holy Spirit, will encourage your heart. He will fill you with: HIS peace, HIS love HIS wisdom, HIS JOY. Surrender is the KEY to receive true JOY that overrides what you are battling. The Lord Jesus is the source that will supply ALL your needs according to his riches in Glory…Philippians 4:19. Surrendering allows you to literally draw from his abundant resources. Read 1 Samuel 30. You will see how God worked. It is pretty amazing how he led them. Really look at the process. David and his men did get back what was stolen from them. When things are taken from us, God can restore them, or give us something even better. He knows what we need and when we need it. There is NOTHING that escapes him, but we need to nurture that relationship. Then, we, you and I, can encourage ourselves in the Lord when things are not going well or as we had planned. Our cup can be filled to overflowing, but only by his hand. Psalms 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

Remember to STOP, curl up in his arms, put yourself in a TIME OUT, with Jesus today – shoot…every day…like a toddler that NEEEEEEEEEDS a nap kinda thing. A daily attitude adjustment to keep our eyes FIXED on the Prize…and that Prize is JESUS! He is our JOY!!!!!

Additional Devotional Reading:

Nehemiah 8:10 – “…Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Psalm 16:11 – “You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Romans 15:13 – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

John 15:11 – “I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Psalm 30:5 – “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

James 1:2-3 – “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

1 Peter 1:8-9 – “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

Blessings to YOU,

Cassandra Lee

There’s JOY in the journey – nourishing body & soul…

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