WATCHWORD:
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11
37 On the last day of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart. John 7:37-38
Meditation:
Lost in Wyoming
Have you ever been lost in thought? You’ve heard the tired, old funny, “My mind wandered away and it hasn’t returned, yet.” Sometimes that’s how I feel when I get lost in my imagination, lost in writing. In my case, I get lost in Wyoming, the location of recent stories.
For me, being lost in Wyoming is a blessing. It’s a way of saying that I get caught up in the joy and leading that my Lord provides, nudging me along a storyline that He wants written. In a sense there are times when being lost in the Basins and mountains of Wyoming is a joy, the Joy of the Lord, and I find myself wrapped in the peace of the Lord, in the warmth of his inspiration, that’s when the story flows.
Have you ever been lost in Wyoming, in that sense? Maybe not Wyoming maybe somewhere else, someplace where you feel the peace of the Lord envelop you, where you want to burst into song. When you reach that place, tears of joy come.
Tears of joy. Joy should not be confused with happiness. Oswald Chambers says it would be an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word ‘happiness’ in connection with the Joy of the Lord. Jesus prayed that our joy might continue fulfilling itself util it becomes the same Joy as His. The question we might ask ourselves is, have we allowed Jesus to introduce His Joy into our lives?
I believe that we should not dwell on our circumstances, our resources, or our health. We should open the door of our heart to the Joy of our Lord as we seek a more perfect understanding of the work that God is doing in our lives. If we get caught up in the splinters of dissatisfaction, or human striving, or pride, are we, in essence, preventing that Joy of the Lord from filling our lives?
When I get lost in Wyoming, and feel a sense of human pride creeping in, I remind myself that it is the work that God does through me that counts, not what I do for Him. I have to remember where it all comes from, and seek a closer relationship with God. I have to be reminded that when I do that, as John tells us, Rivers of living water will flow, and that ‘living water’, His Word in our lives, will flow from us to those around us.
One last observation. Have you noticed that those people who have been the greatest blessing in your life are those people who themselves were totally unaware of having been a blessing. When you reach that point you are stepping into the joy of the Lord, and you will find warmth in being lost in your own private ‘Wyoming’. May it be so with you.
Stan
Wisdom from Dove pieces:
Be brave enough to be bad at something new.
Don’t forget to enjoy the little things.
Closing Prayer:
Help us, Lord, when we get lost in our own thoughts, in our own sinful behaviors, in our own confusion about what we should do and where should we go and how do we solve this problem how do I get beyond this illness. Help us to find you, Lord when we call out, even though we know you are there. Grant is the courage to not hesitate but rely exclusively on Your love, in the knowledge that You, Lord, are our Lord and our Savior, You are the lamp that lights our path, You are the peace that surrounds us, and You are the joy so deep that we would never want to leave the warmth of that grace. In Jesus name. Amen.
