[Dailydevo] Daily Devotion Monday October 31, 2005

[Barry Ludwig]

Daily Devotions Monday October 31, 2005

This week's devotions are offered by Pastor Ludwig. The focus this week is
upon the simple but elusive idea of "joy."

 

Psalm 30:4-5

"Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy
name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning."

 

The sainted Alexander Schmeman, teacher and priest in the Greek Orthodox
church, spoke and wrote often about "joy."  In his posthumously published
personal journals he wrote, "God can forgive anything but the absence of
joy."  Joy is a by-product of faith in a God of grace and mercy and yet we
believers are so often "joyless." In our culture, joy is typically perceived
as an emotional feeling in response to a good event or outcome.

 

In Scripture, joy can certainly have that meaning but it is more often not a
response to an act but an anticipation of the act of God's coming
deliverance.  In this psalm, the Hebrew word, "rinah" or joy reflects the
conviction that weeping WILL give way to celebration. We have a God who does
more than just talk about loving us, our God takes action. The birth, death
and resurrection of Jesus is confirmation of this. Do you have cause for
weeping?  Let expectant joy also be present. God's deliverance is coming.

 

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