JOY.

Devotional | Shannon Miller.

I’ve talked with several friends lately who, like me, are booked down to the minute with an overflowing list of appointments and responsibilities.  Every magazine has an idea for how to thrive in busy times: practice more focused or “deep work” (tell that to a mom!), find a better organizational system, institute a 6am workout, reassess priorities often, and “eat clean” (I do wash my hands before opening the potato chip bag)…  These ideas have their place, but what gets me up in the morning and lifts my heart high enough that I can make the best of my chaotic days, is joy.  Where do we find this joy?  Author Greg Morse described it this way:

“Joy, the Bible said, was not a philosophical idea or chemical reaction; it was that which is chained unchangeably to the presence of God: ‘In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore’ (Psalm 16:11). It is experienced in his orbit, the atmosphere of his presence, the aroma of his fragrance.
“Fullness of joy, it claimed, was found nowhere else. What many call ‘true joy’ — a noun so battered and bruised that it needs the crutch of an adjective — does not originate or terminate in this world. God revealed that billions of us have spent our lives digging for stars.”
Read more at https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/anywhere-but-god