Filled With Joy

July 5

(Acts 13:52 NIV) “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit."

(Psalms 126:3-6 NIV) "The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. {4} Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev. {5} Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. {6} He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him."

Paul and Barnabas and the disciples had plenty to complain about. Not everyone liked them. They had many enemies because of the gospel. They were run out of so many towns that they had automatic dust removers for their feet. They were disrespected, ejected, protested, arrested, and rejected. But they were filled with joy, because salvation and the Holy Spirit and joy go together. When people are being saved, it’s hard to feel sorry for yourself. When God is moving and working through you it is difficult to be a whiner. Paul and the others genuinely believed that their life here on earth was about glorifying God, not about finding happiness. If and when we come to that same realization, we too can be filled with joy, and produce fruit for God’s Kingdom in times of trials and testing. Difficult days will not defeat us when we see them as opportunities to glorify Christ. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day