“You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”  Luke 3:22 NLT

  Do you ever think of God as joyful?  I know we recognize Him as holy, majestic, loving and powerful, but joyful? Yet the Bible tells us that one of the fruits of His Spirit is joy.  We are reminded in Psalms that He delights in the details of our lives. Zephaniah prophesied that God would take delight in His people with gladness and rejoice over them with joyful songs.  Nehemiah encouraged God’s people by telling them, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Yes, God is a God of joy and He encourages us to be joyful too. His joy can be our strength.  Throughout scripture we are reminded to rejoice in the Lord.  As we turn our eyes toward our joyful Father and recognize His love, care and provision, we too can rejoice! We may not find our joy in circumstances or in people, but we can find our joy in the Lord. Rejoice in the God of joy as you walk through your week this week!

This is an excerpt from my devotional, Pursuing God in the Quiet Places. Click Here for more info on purchasing a signed copy.