The Joy of the Lord

My husband has a player on his golf team who always has a smile on his face. This smile doesn’t fade after he has a terrible round.

One day, my husband asked him why he seemed to be filled with joy. The player responded that many people have thought his joy must be fake and labeled him disingenuous. He said that to keep this joy each day, he has to look beyond the current circumstances and place his sight on God, his true joy.

That player was living out Psalm 34. He chooses each day to not let the good or the bad events alter the way he views life. If you keep your eyes and focus on God, you will never be disappointed. This doesn’t mean that you can’t ever be sad or hurt. It means that even when hard times come your way, you ultimately know that God is still with you, which should bring you joy.

At the beginning of Psalm 34:4, we see that David sought out the Lord to find this joy. You can’t sit back and expect to be filled with God’s joy if you haven’t actively sought it out. How do you seek out the joy of the Lord? You learn how to delight in His Word, to praise Him in each moment of your day, to share His Good News with others, and to help bring more into His Kingdom.

This joy is ready to take hold of you, but you must decide what you look at. Will you focus on what each day will bring, or will you look beyond your circumstances and focus your joy on Christ?