I LOVE today's website devotional by Jerry Savelle!
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth (Psalm 34:1 NKJV).
Did you know it is possible to experience the joy of the Lord on a continual basis? The key to experiencing continual joy is developing a heart that is filled with continual praise and a willingness to view your life—past, present, and future—with a positive attitude.
The Israelites were surrounded by the goodness of God as they journeyed through the desert to freedom, yet they did not view their experience with a positive frame of mind. Because they complained about their situation, many of them never entered the good land God already had waiting for them.
Had they viewed their circumstances positively, acknowledged the goodness of God, and walked in joy, they would have gone straight into the good land. Their negativity robbed them of joy, dishonored God, and cost them the good life.
So praise God for His grace that covers your past, your present, and your future. His grace is able to turn even deliberate sin from the past around for your good and His glory—if you will hand it over to Him in faith.
You experience joy when nothing from the past has the power to condemn or sadden you, when your memories are only of the positive because you trust in God’s goodness towards you. You experience joy when you focus on the goodness of God in your present situation and believe you will spend your future walking in His grace and mercy.
Continuous joy produces continuous praise for all the good things God has done and is going to do. After all, when you are touched by His goodness, how can you do anything but continually praise God for His kindness and love towards you?
Confession: My God is a good God, and His mercy endures forever. I choose right now to trust Him with every aspect of my life—past, present, and future—knowing that He is able to turn every situation and circumstance for my good. His praise will continually be in my mouth.
AMEN! No good thing comes from dredging up and complaining about the past! Learning from it is one thing, but we do NOT have to think and talk about it continually in order to learn from it! In fact, God's very best is that we learn immediately from Holy Spirit where we missed it concerning His Word, then focus on obeying the Word from that point on, FORGETTING what lies behind and STRETCHING and REACHING towards our goal again (Philippians 3:13-14)! Make these small adjustments and you will find yourself missing it less and moving on quicker than ever before when you do! Thank You, JESUS, for Grace and Mercy abounding! HALLELUJAH! Here is Hillsong Kids with "Never Give Up", because child-like faith and trust is what God expects from us!Shalom in Him!
