Coffee with Jesus

Psalm 21 & 22

Again there is victory.
And the joy connection to the triumph.
Shouts of joy ~ because of God's victory. (Ps. 21:1)
King David writes of such joy, such victory, in his psalms.
He writes about having joy from being in God's presence. (Ps. 21:6)

And I wonder about the presence of God.
I wonder about how to be in that state of such joy just by immersing in God's presence.
I think that's the key though.
Immersing.
Soaking.
Absorbing.
Putting yourself fully into Him and allowing Him to reside in you.
And that's not always easy to do.
Battles rage on around us ~ sickness, hurt, relationship breakdown ~ to name a few.
Battles fought and we feel helpless.
We wonder where God is.
We question His presence.
We lose some of our joy.

King David faced various battles for years. Physical battles. Spiritual battles. Relationship battles.
Yet he found joy in the Lord.
Joy in His presence.
He is always present.
His promise to never leave nor forsake, is beautiful. (See Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5)
And so it comes to how willing we are to spend time in His presence.
Dig into the Word of God.
Get to know His character.
Worship Him. Sing to Him.
Talk to Him, as a friend over for coffee. Pray.
Intentionally place yourself in His presence.
And joy will follow.

Psalm 22:26 takes this further and states, "All who seek the Lord will praise Him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy." (NLT)

Lesson in the journey ... There is forever-joy in His presence.

Joy in the Stagnant

Words are interesting. They tell stories. They prompt thoughtfulness. They hurt and they encourage.
Sometimes words are so impressed on our hearts that they won't let us go unchanged.
As I've said before, one day, God gave me the word JOY.
It was a word that wouldn't release me.
It held fast and embedded inside so that I couldn't shake it.

It still holds me captive, and I'm okay with that.
It's a quiet reminder that through the irritable, unpleasant, annoying, and hurtful stuff in life that there can be JOY.
It's a driving force that sometimes shouts at me, a pressing reminder that I shouldn't try to escape it's hold.

The other day, another word grasped my attention.
This word wasn't as pleasant.
This word puzzled me.
This word seemed to counter my JOY word.

STAGNANT.

And it kept coming at me.

STAGNANT.

Yet, JOY continued to speak.

It was like a duel going on in my head.
How could JOY be in the same space as STAGNANT?
How could they co-exist?

Stagnant isn't a nice word. It is often used in reference to a pond. A stinky, life-deprived body of water where only unpleasant creatures thrive.

Well.
Where's the JOY in that?
There is none.
That is why JOY continues to gently prod.
JOY continues to poke through the slime, and the stench.
It counters the stagnant, and brings life. 
It breaks through the dormant surface and causes ripples.
The stirring on the surface begins to charge upwards, till it explodes with passion, with hope.
And then there is a fountain.
A fountain of living water, pouring out, flowing through.
A refreshing spray.
A breath of newness.

And so, here I stand ...
I am with arms spread out, eyes closed, total abandon, wind in the hair, fountain-spray on my face, ready for life's breath.
Out of the stagnant, into the vibrant.