No Faith, No Joy

                  Faith gives joy. I have this entry in my journal from several years ago: "I asked the Lord for a special Word to rest my faith in today as I wrote. Immediately came the words of an old song: 'Can I doubt His tender mercies who through life has been my guide.'

"So I wrote by faith today and that's my joy. My joy is not in what I accomplish; it's in the strength of my faith. When I'm confident He's leading me, there's great joy even if all the pages end up in the waste can."

"Be of good cheer," Paul said on a sinking ship, "for I believe God." We have good cheer for the same reason. Faith and joy are intertwined and Satan fears nothing as much as our faith.

Fear, anxiety, and apprehension have no place in our hearts when we're sure that all things rest in the hands of our loving God. "Oh how excellent are the crosses of Providence!" wrote E. E. Shelhammer. Even in our disappointments, let's believe that He is working all for our good and rejoice! 

Dear Jesus, help me to realize that when I fail to rejoice it may because I'm failing to believe in Your goodness.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength" (Habakkuk 3:17-19).