Monday, October 21, 2024:
Enjoying God's Joy (morning)
Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Pondering Point
Let’s revisit God and His joy and gladness over us:
From the book Joyful Journey:
God is always glad to be with us. He treats our weaknesses tenderly. He actively works for our good. In other words, God is benevolently present with us. If our perception of God's character is distorted due to our own experiences of life's disappointments and our own histories of trauma, then having an all-seeing and always-present God could be stifling and produce fear instead of love and trust…To emphasize the importance of our awareness that He is relationally present with us, we will use the term “Immanuel sight” (iSight). iSight is having the recognition that God is present, is truly good and perseveres in doing good for us.
~ Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow, Joyful Journey, page 10.
The verse above (Zephaniah 3:17), talking about God, provides a great place to practice sharing with Him share via interactive gratitude.
Pray aloud
Father God, I love the idea of You quieting me with love, rejoicing over me with gladness. I wonder what kind of song You might song about your people.
Listening to God...
I am the Lord – and love being your God. I am in your midst, mighty and able to keep you safe; I rejoice over you with gladness; let Me quiet you with My love; I exult over you with singing. What song would you like Me to sing?
Five Minutes
Use your GO TO JOYS and ANTICIPATED JOYS to fill a 5-minute window. Remember: use an alarm. If necessary, review the explanation.
Read the identity in Christ
statement aloud
In Christ, God redeems us and rejoices over us with gladness, quiets us with His love and even sings over us with loud singing. Go God!
Closing Prayer
Close with thanks to God for these moments together.
Ask Him to bless the upcoming day, then…
GO – in JOY, with JOY anticipating JOY
Monday, October 21, 2024:
Sometime During Your Day
Level 3: Savoring joys of the past.
Pondering Point
Some folks equate pain and suffering with God’s displeasure. This can result in a weakened faith and difficulty trusting in God.
iSight: Having the recognition that God is present, is truly good and perseveres in doing good for us.
From the book Joyful Journey:
If we have experienced a lot of pain or difficulties in our closest relationships, it usually shows up in the lack of close bonds we feel with people and ultimately with God. Some of us may find our iSight weak or poor and being in need of correction for this very reason. This might help us to understand why many Christians maintain a life of survival instead of thriving. The abundant, thriving life with God is fully experienced when we have true iSight.... No matter where our iSight may currently be, God can meet us there.
~ Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow, Joyful Journey, page 10.
Journal Prompt:
Joy memory related to food.
Key Words:
[there] is a universal angst most people experience as they look for a way to fill the longing in their hearts. Many of these people experience joy now and then but know there is still something missing. We have seen many people searching for an answer to this longing find what they are looking for in a relationship with Jesus. From this perspective, the worldview of Christianity is especially suited to help people live with joy and peace. It offers a solution to shame through the forgiveness of sins. It offers a solution to the fear of death through the promise of eternal life. It offers hope in times of despair and a God whose love cannot be measured.
~ Warner, Coursey, The 4 Habits, page 155.
Enjoying God's Joy (evening)
Monday, October 21, 2024
Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Pondering Point
Time for today’s last 5-minute joy exercise. I hope you are making progress in “seeing” God present with you.
Pray aloud
Father God, I like the picture of You rejoicing over us – including me. Thank You for this mental picture. Bless my mind to hang on to it for difficult times in the future. And bless my joy time.
Review
Look back for previously ANTICIPATED or SURPRISE JOYS. You are training your brain to look for joy. This builds the habit. Recall body sensations and emotions. This solidifies the habit. Remember: use an alarm.
Read the identity in Jesus
statement aloud
In Jesus, God redeems us and rejoices over us with gladness, quiets us with His love and even sings over us with loud singing. Go God!
Evening Prayer
Thank God for blessing the day, ask for peaceful rest, then GO to sleep – in grateful JOY, anticipating new JOY tomorrow under His grace.
From the book Joyful Journey:
Immanuel journaling is a tool that helps us to remain in Him. As we have shared Immanuel journaling one-on-one, in small groups and at conferences, we have seen the Father use this tool to help people live knowing that we are in Christ and Christ is in us -- consciously growing in the awareness of God's presence. This gives us the capacity to love others because we know His love is continuously available. We can then take the energy we spent worrying and direct it to loving God, loving people and helping them know God. This becomes possible because we learn through experience that we are loved and will be taken care of by God.
~ Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow, Joyful Journey, page 8.