Our Longing Hearts

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

“Come Thou long expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free. From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the Earth Thou art. Dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.” – Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

    Jesus is the joy of every longing heart. Our hearts long for freedom - freedom from fear, from sin, from struggling and from striving. Our hearts need rest and they find their rest in freedom that comes from Jesus. Whether we know it or not we all long for freedom and for those of us who know Jesus, he is our joy. Our longing hearts find their rest in Jesus. This leads us to gratefulness and praise.

    There is always another place we can find rest. There will always be opportunity for us to be released from fear and sin and find rest.

    May we continually find our rest and freedom in Jesus and may we experience the joy that it is to know him.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

Vision Changes Everything

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**
 

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2b

    Vision changes everything. Vision makes you do things you never thought you could. Having a picture of what is to come changes how you live presently. The author of Hebrews says that Jesus endured the cross and scorned its shame because of the joy set before him. Jesus had a vision and this vision helped him to see farther. For Jesus, this joy was reconciled relationship with us, with mankind. The joy that was worth the cross was us.

    This is what joy does – it sees farther. Joy sees what is to come. 

     Can you imagine having a vision of great joy? Whatever that vision is, we often do not know what sacrifices it will take. We have the example of Jesus, the One who is to come who continued to see the vision that was greater than the sacrifice. He saw the vision of joy of reconciled relationship with man, and the amazing aftereffects of that (they are infinite!).  Joy sees beyond our present circumstances. Joy has vision and it sees farther.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

The Oxymoron of Joy

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

    Sometimes life seems anything but joyful. It is difficult to find joy in the midst of loss, pain and anxiety. It is difficult to find joy in the midst of hardship and heartache because these things in and of themselves do not contain joy. They contain confusion, chaos and suffering. Joy is very difficult to find because it is not there. But Jesus is. Jesus is with us in the confusion, the chaos, the suffering.

    Joy may be difficult to find but Jesus is there. Jesus is our joy and he is with us. He is with us in the suffering, in the loss, in the “I can’t breathe because this is so painful” moments. There can be joy because we have Jesus. He is the only reason that there can be joy in the midst of evil, pain and suffering.

    We live life as an oxymoron of joy and pain, Jesus and suffering. He lived life as an oxymoron and we rest in the tension because we know the joy that is relationship with Jesus.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

 

For Those Waiting

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    Many of us are in times of waiting. Waiting for the next job, waiting for a baby, waiting for a test result, waiting for a season of trials to be over, waiting for direction or an answer. Waiting times are full of unknowns and unrest. A prayer for those waiting:

    While you wait, may God give you the grace to trust. In the midst of unknown may he overwhelm you with peace. When uncertainty seems to dominate may he give you joy in the present moments.
    As you wait may Jesus be enough and may you settle and rest in him. Amen.

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Celebrating

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    This weekend we celebrated my son’s fourth birthday. So. Much. Fun. It was such a joy getting ready to celebrate him and celebrating with others that care for him so dearly. What a joy and a gift.

    If I could just bottle up my joy and then consider this joy as a fraction of how God celebrates over me I would live life differently. To live under the great joy of a great Father frees us to live fully. It frees us to live into our fullest selves, into our fullest reflection of God’s image and into the work we are called to in this life.

    The next time you think, feel or experience great joy over a child or someone you love, consider God’s great joy over you. Run with this image of a God who delights and rejoices over you!

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

God Keeps His Promises

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    God keeps His promises. He is good, He is in control. His promises bring great freedom.

    His promises include (and are not limited to) unconditional love, great hope, great joy, that He is good, that He knows your heart, that He created you just like He wanted you, that He delights in you and that He will never leave you.

    Will you believe His promises today?

**Sit again for as long as is available to you.**

The Call and Gift of Joy

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

    Joy is both a choice and a gift. Most things seem to be. When I say it is a choice I do not mean that it is an easy choice. In reality choosing joy can be a very challenging, seemingly impossible. To choose joy requires a perspective and strength that is beyond us. To choose joy means that we choose it in the good times and the bad, in the ease and in the challenges. Choosing joy is not circumstantial but it sure is easier to choose it when life is easy!
    Joy is also a gift. An overwhelming, supernatural, mysterious gift that takes no effort on our part, we merely receive it. Oh how I desire that we would all have the gift of joy!
    My prayer is that you would have joy today and this Advent season. Joy that overwhelms, joy that sees farther, joy that is lived out more deeply and richly in the midst of wherever you are in life.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

An Oxymoron

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

    I recently watched a friend singing “Joy to the World”, knowing that his world had fallen apart and he was struggling deeply. I thought to myself, an oxymoron is living out before my eyes.
    Sometimes life seems anything but joyful. It is difficult to find joy in the midst of loss, pain and anxiety. It is difficult to find joy in the midst of hardship and heartache because these things in and of themselves do not contain joy. They contain confusion, chaos and suffering. Joy is very difficult to find because it is not there. But Jesus is. Jesus is with us in the confusion, the chaos, the suffering. Joy may be difficult to find but Jesus is there. Jesus is our joy and he is with us. He is with us in the suffering, in the loss, in the “I can’t breathe because this is so painful” moments. There can be joy because we have Jesus. He is the only reason that there can be joy in the midst of evil, pain and suffering.
    We live life as an oxymoron of joy and pain, Jesus and suffering. He lived life as an oxymoron and we rest in the tension because we know the joy that is relationship with Jesus.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

 

The Joy of Every Longing Heart

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

“Come Thou long expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free. From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the Earth Thou art. Dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.” – Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

    Jesus is the joy of every longing heart. Our hearts long for freedom - freedom from fear, from sin, from struggling and from striving. Our hearts need rest and they find their rest in freedom that comes from Jesus. Whether we know it or not we all long for freedom and for those of us who know Jesus, he is our joy. Our longing hearts find their rest in Jesus. This leads us to gratefulness and praise.
    There is always another place we can find rest. There will always be opportunity for us to be released from fear and sin and find rest.
    May we continually find our rest and freedom in Jesus and may we experience the joy that it is to know him.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

Joy Sees Farther

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**
 

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2b

Vision changes everything. Vision makes you do things you never thought you could. Having a picture of what is to come changes how you live presently. The author of Hebrews says that Jesus endured the cross and scorned its shame because of the joy set before him. Jesus had a vision and this vision helped him to see farther. This is what joy does – it sees farther. Joy sees what is to come.
For Jesus, this joy was reconciled relationship with us, with mankind. The joy that was worth the cross was us.
Can you imagine having a vision of great joy? Whatever that vision is, we often do not know what sacrifices it will take. We have the example of Jesus, the One who is to come who continued to see the vision that was greater than the sacrifice. He saw the vision of joy of reconciled relationship with man, and the amazing aftereffects of that (they are infinite!).  Joy sees beyond our present circumstances. Joy has vision and it sees farther.
**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

Advent Joy

**Please take one minute to sit, breathe deeply and seek quiet.**

JOY -
n: the emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires;
v: to experience great pleasure or delight.

    According to Webster, joy is dependent on our emotions and experiences. Our joy is subject to our well-being, the well-being of those we love, success and/or gaining the desires of our hearts. I can relate to this. Yes, joy is an emotion and can be found in experiences and I LOVE to feel joy!
    Jesus also speaks of a joy that is grounded, not fleeting and not at the mercy of emotions. Joy is found in a person – Jesus.
    Jesus is constant, steady and true. He is not based on emotion or experience. He IS. If joy is found in a relationship with Jesus then this joy grounds me and is not dependent on experience and emotion. Experience and emotion are there but our joy is not based on those things. Our joy is based on something more stable.
    Yes, joy is felt and joy can go missing but our TRUE joy, the joy that grounds us is found in the person of Jesus, whose birth we look forward to with great anticipation.

**Please take as much time as is possible to sit and reflect.**

Advent Hope

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Advent is defined as “coming” or “arrival”. As we consider the Advent season of Christmas we look forward to the coming and arrival of Jesus.
    In the midst of other Christmas traditions, there is God’s call to sit, listen and prepare for the arrival of Jesus. I confess that I probably spend more time preparing for the arrival of a house guest than I do for Jesus.
    In Christian tradition there are four themes of Advent which include Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Various churches focus on these themes in the four Sundays leading up to Christmas and in various orders. I am following the order of our church and will start with Hope.
    Consider how God may be calling you to prepare for the arrival of His Son, Jesus through Hope.
Spend time in prayer today focusing on Hope. Ask God to show you whatever He would like you to see in relation to Hope and Jesus.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Joy and Grief

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Life is full of bittersweet moments. Saying hello to one thing often requires saying goodbye to another. A new job means that we get to serve in ways more in line with our gifts and calling yet this means we say goodbye to a work team. We say hello to a new in-law and goodbye to holidays as they have been when it was just “us”.
    As we live more life we find that joy and grief often come as a pair. There is great joy as a friend receives a promotion and great grief as we are reminded that another friend is without a job. There is great joy as children receive life-saving medication and great grief as the similar children die because there is no life-saving medication.
    We are called to rejoice with those who rejoice and grieve with those who grieve. There are times when we rejoice because a friend has a dream come true. We truly are excited for them, but it is challenging to rejoice because we have to wait for our dream to come true, or maybe it never does. We grieve when another is grieving the loss of a loved one and feel a sense of guilt because our loved one remains here with us.
    Joy and grief are realities that are often tensions. Are you experiencing a life tension of joy and grief? If so, talk to God about it. Sit and listen to what He would speak to your heart and be encouraged.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Storing Up Joy

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Joy is a gift. To receive joy as a gift means that it is given to you, you do nothing for it other than ask for it receive it. God gives us the gift of joy.
    Joy is also a choice. To choose joy means that whatever your circumstances, you choose the posture of joy. One great way to do this is through thankfulness. To choose thankfulness leads to joy.
    What can steal our joy? What strips us of the gift? One great culprit is comparison. Comparing ourselves to another and cultivating the breeding grounds for bitterness and envy makes it pretty difficult to choose joy and even to receive it. Comparing our bodies, comparing our families, our homes, our spiritual lives, our cooking, our income, our gifts, … you get the picture. Comparison steals our joy and we have a choice whether to indulge comparison or not.
    How can you store up joy? What are you thankful for? How will you choose joy rather than comparison today? Do not forget to ask God for it as well. It is both a choice and a gift.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Storing Up Good

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

    Storing up good. The things that come out of our mouths are a reflection and overflow of the things that are stored up in our hearts. If bitterness, anger and jealousy are stored up in our hearts then our words will be flavored with these things. If good things such as hope, joy, peace and love are stored up in our hearts then our words will be flavored with these things.
    This week I want us to consider “storing up” good things in our hearts. As we consider storing up good, we’ll also consider what is taking residence in our hearts instead of good.
    Spend some time in prayer today. Ask God to help you see His goodness. When you see His goodness, store it in your heart, thank Him for it and look for more signs of His goodness. It’s all around.

Have more than two minutes? Read and meditate on Luke 6:43-45.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Rich Moments

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Rich Moments. My heart is tied up in measuring my life by chronological time, by the clock, rather than by moments. Often we think the most valuable things take the most time. A rich moment does not have to be a long one. There is a depth to moments that cannot be measured by a clock or calendar. I wish I were more patient and more attentive to these moments and opportune times. They mold and shape us. They add joy, life, contentment and peace. They allow us to see God and others in deeper ways. Time can be more than a hand moving around a clock yet we often lower the value of time to be just that. Time can be measure by depth and not just length. This measurement is often more valuable. God often slows down our lives so that we have opportunity for rich moments. What rich moments has God brought you? What will He bring?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

He Never Lets Go

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

God never lets go. Through the calm in life, when challenges are minimal and life is relatively peaceful, God is holding onto you. Through the chaos of life, when challenges are unending and life seems to show no sign of peace, God is holding onto you. God never lets go – through calm or chaos, peace or unrest.

What season are you in? Are you in a time of calm and rest? If so, remember God is holding onto you and you can enjoy His presence. Imagine walking hand in hand with your child, enjoying the day together. Are you in a time of chaos and unrest? If so, remember that God is also holding onto you and you may or may not sense His presence, but He is with you. Imagine walking your child across a busy street, hand in hand, guiding and helping him/her navigate through chaos of cars and stressors. The same hand that walks you through joys walks you through pain. The same hand that walks you through calm walks you through chaos. He never lets go.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.** 

Overwhelmed by Joy

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Overwhelming joy! Some days are just full of them. The day cannot get any better. Everyone is happy, the day is beautiful and your perspective on life is hopeful. We need these days! These days sustain us and give us hope on those days that are not so joyful. May today be a day filled with overwhelming joy! (If it is not, may one come soon!)

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**