“‘If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.’ For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” — Isaiah 58:13–14 (NIV, emphasis mine)

So, how would you like to find “your joy in the Lord”? Read these words again and note the words I put in italics. The Lord is crying out in these verses that if we would just STOP doing as we please, things would go much better for us. If you were to ask me where my joy was, or why I was in such a bad mood, 90+ percent of the time I would point outside myself and say that something out there was robbing me of my joy.

But what if it is the other way around? What if Satan has duped us into surrendering our own joy by allowing ourselves to get in the way? Have you ever noticed that things are pretty good as long as God is working within our will? The problem starts when my will and His are not in alignment. So, is the problem with God or with me? Of course it is with me, but not wanting to admit that, I tend to transfer the bad feeling upon the world around me.

We need to remember, it is not about us!! This life we live is about glorifying God. He is our creator and redeemer. What He promises is that if we put Him first; He will make our life full of joy and peace. We tend to see it just the opposite. We say, “Lord, make my life full of joy and peace and then I will put you first.” And there we do it once again! We do as we please, as opposed to as He pleases.

Today, and every day, let’s make sure to evaluate that we have repentantly gotten ourselves out of the way so that we live as God would please. There are rich blessings in store for us who put God first.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church