When I was young, I thought God was very serious. But as I have grown older, I have become more and more aware that He is a joyful God. Not only is His heart filled with joy, He wants us to experience that same quality in our heart.
There are nearly 500 references to some form of joy or rejoicing in Scripture and this doesn't include synonyms. Many of these words express exceeding gladness, boasting, exulting, shouting, and even jumping for joy. Obviously, God wants us to be joyful--and to express it.
Before we go further, let's make an important distinction. When we talk about joy, we don't necessarily mean happiness. Happiness is an emotional response to a certain set of circumstances; joy is a response to the Lord that He puts in our hearts.
In the first part of this study, we looked at both the characteristics of joy and what hinders us from obtaining it. In this half, we want to see why God encourages us to have faith and is grieved by our grumbling and complaining.
"The Lord is my shepherd. This picture of the ever-faithful shepherd who meets all our needs is a familiar one to Christians. The prophet, Isaiah, also has a well-known description of Him. "He tends His flock:...He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young" (Isa. 40:11).
In the first part of this study, we concentrated on the shepherd. In the second part, we want to better see the relationship between the shepherd and his sheep, how he cares and protects the flock, even at the cost of his own life.
Is there ever enough money for our needs? When I was growing up, although the average family didn't have much, most families regularly put aside money in their savings account. Today, many families are thousands of dollars in debt, slaves to their merciless credit cards.
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