JESU JUVA
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10
I found a ladybird today.
It doesn't sound extraordinary, except I haven't seen one for years. I'm not sure where they've been hiding. For the past few months, while meandering through gardens with camera in hand, my eyes have been searching for pretty herbs, flowers and leaves. I've photographed many other interesting things, but never a ladybird.
This morning as I headed off for a photographic jaunt in the city's botanical gardens, I sent a prayer towards heaven: 'Lord, I'd really like to find a ladybird today.' A simple request from a child to her Father.
I didn't believe I'd truly find one, so I busied myself with shots of exotic flowers and fruit. I also didn't consider my prayer important in the scheme of things. After all, how important is a ladybird?
I found myself in a faraway nook of the extensive gardens and walked straight past a tall tree, one among many. The corner-of-my-eye glimpsed purple bell-shaped flowers. Worth a second look, so I took a few steps backwards.
The tree was enormous. Shade covered its flower-laden branches. My gaze dropped and stopped upon a tiny figure: orange with black polka-dots and six whispery legs. The first ladybird I'd seen since... I'm not sure when.
My newfound friend was easily coaxed to take a ride on my hand. He stayed with me as I searched for a splash of light away from the shade. Sunshine was necessary for a photograph.
It was such a tiny moment with a tiny creature, but my Abba Father demonstrated he hears even the smallest prayers. The ladybird was my splash of joy after a few difficult days.
Those splashes of joy have appeared before along my life's journey. When I was baptised in the Holy Spirit as a seventeen-year-old, the first manifestation I experienced was a deep, supernatural joy. I think God knew I needed that particular emotion from all that had been and for all that lay ahead.
I didn't laugh out loud. I experienced an unmistakable sensation deep inside – it bubbled, burst, pulsated. I couldn't manufacture that feeling. When the Bible speaks of the joy of the Lord being our strength, those words are true. That sensation has arisen now and then, usually in dark times, those moments when joy is least expected.
I remember another time waiting for a bus. The sky was grey. The pavement was grey. The buildings were grey. My circumstances were grey. Unnamed depression lurked in my soul at the time, but suddenly the rivers of living water bubbled up. The burst came. It caused my head to lift up and my heart to sing praise to God, and it gave me the strength to keep going.
Sometimes I am at the beach when the joy hits. It causes me to lift my feet and run. If a dog is with me, he partakes in the spontaneous joy and flies across the sand. That joy needs an outlet, and I think it must be how David felt when he danced before the Lord (2 Samuel 6).
I need to remember those splashes of joy - and look out for them - because it can be easy to forget when life seems like an endless struggle.
Don't pretend and clothe yourself with false joy. People see through the charade. Be real. Life is hard, and sometimes circumstances are dark. But even amid darkness, splashes of light can appear, which don't depend on circumstances. They come from the power of the Holy Spirit. Look out for them - as you seek Jesus - because the joy of the Lord does, indeed, give strength.
Look to the Father in Heaven, through his Son Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Cry out to him. You might be surprised. You might find joy.
SOLI DEO GLORIA
It doesn't sound extraordinary, except I haven't seen one for years. I'm not sure where they've been hiding. For the past few months, while meandering through gardens with camera in hand, my eyes have been searching for pretty herbs, flowers and leaves. I've photographed many other interesting things, but never a ladybird.
This morning as I headed off for a photographic jaunt in the city's botanical gardens, I sent a prayer towards heaven: 'Lord, I'd really like to find a ladybird today.' A simple request from a child to her Father.
I didn't believe I'd truly find one, so I busied myself with shots of exotic flowers and fruit. I also didn't consider my prayer important in the scheme of things. After all, how important is a ladybird?
I found myself in a faraway nook of the extensive gardens and walked straight past a tall tree, one among many. The corner-of-my-eye glimpsed purple bell-shaped flowers. Worth a second look, so I took a few steps backwards.
The tree was enormous. Shade covered its flower-laden branches. My gaze dropped and stopped upon a tiny figure: orange with black polka-dots and six whispery legs. The first ladybird I'd seen since... I'm not sure when.
My newfound friend was easily coaxed to take a ride on my hand. He stayed with me as I searched for a splash of light away from the shade. Sunshine was necessary for a photograph.
It was such a tiny moment with a tiny creature, but my Abba Father demonstrated he hears even the smallest prayers. The ladybird was my splash of joy after a few difficult days.
Those splashes of joy have appeared before along my life's journey. When I was baptised in the Holy Spirit as a seventeen-year-old, the first manifestation I experienced was a deep, supernatural joy. I think God knew I needed that particular emotion from all that had been and for all that lay ahead.
I didn't laugh out loud. I experienced an unmistakable sensation deep inside – it bubbled, burst, pulsated. I couldn't manufacture that feeling. When the Bible speaks of the joy of the Lord being our strength, those words are true. That sensation has arisen now and then, usually in dark times, those moments when joy is least expected.
I remember another time waiting for a bus. The sky was grey. The pavement was grey. The buildings were grey. My circumstances were grey. Unnamed depression lurked in my soul at the time, but suddenly the rivers of living water bubbled up. The burst came. It caused my head to lift up and my heart to sing praise to God, and it gave me the strength to keep going.
Sometimes I am at the beach when the joy hits. It causes me to lift my feet and run. If a dog is with me, he partakes in the spontaneous joy and flies across the sand. That joy needs an outlet, and I think it must be how David felt when he danced before the Lord (2 Samuel 6).
I need to remember those splashes of joy - and look out for them - because it can be easy to forget when life seems like an endless struggle.
Don't pretend and clothe yourself with false joy. People see through the charade. Be real. Life is hard, and sometimes circumstances are dark. But even amid darkness, splashes of light can appear, which don't depend on circumstances. They come from the power of the Holy Spirit. Look out for them - as you seek Jesus - because the joy of the Lord does, indeed, give strength.
Look to the Father in Heaven, through his Son Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Cry out to him. You might be surprised. You might find joy.
SOLI DEO GLORIA
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