Joy comes in the morning

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Times may seem bleak right now, but we can know that even when disaster abounds and emptiness seems to occupy spaces once fruitful, our hearts are filled with an everlasting peace. Empty 'barns' and lost 'flocks' may not be our worry today, but empty pantries and drained bank accounts may be our present worry. Even in the midst of these struggles, we can rejoice in the Lord. Why? He remains our strength when our weakness abounds!

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Joy comes when we worship him - it actually ushers in his peace and joy when we surrender our hearts in worship. In short order, we find our strength being renewed and our peace restored. These are found in his presence, not in the circumstances we face. Even though...these are not words of surrender, but of conviction!

We can focus fully on the disaster at hand, or we can rejoice in the fact God NEVER abandons his chosen people. It is so easy to focus on the bad stuff around us, but when we do we miss out on God's peace, joy, and we might even miss his purpose in it all. It is in intentional surrender that we realize our greatest strength. We endure, not under our own power, but his. As we surrender to him in worship, we find his strength becomes ours - we walk boldly, see the good in the midst of the bad, and experience a peace that surpasses all the chaos and calamity that abounds.

Don't get me wrong - we might 'feel' the pressure and threats that abound, but we don't have to give into or be led by those feelings! God is moving, our emotions may be running on overtime, and we may be looking a little too frequently in the direction of despair. We choose to give in or rise above it. It is his peace that actually helps us rise above it all. It is a choice - it is a determined focus. Worship with all your heart and begin to experience God's presence with you in it all. He NEVER abandons us. Just sayin!

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