The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
He makes me
lie down in green pastures,
he leads me
beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.
He guides me
in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear
no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and
your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence
of my enemies.
You anoint my
head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely
goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will
dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23)
Joy
Joy is yellow: bright, cheery, visible
yellow. Maybe that's why I think kitchens should be yellow. Joy is written in
curves and curls, sweeping gestures and soft edges. It's expansive and
expressive. Joy is larger than life. Perhaps that's why Americans don't wish
joy on each other. We say "Happy Birthday" and "Happy New
Year" and "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmas"
instead. Joy seems to have been relegated to the realm of the religious. We
sing "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" and "Joy to the World"
and "I've Got Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy down in my heart."
But joy is sneaky; it shows up uninvited
and without warning. Listen to kids giggle as they play with puppies. That's
joy. Joy can be quiet, too. Read Psalm 23 (above) slowly and aloud, feeling the words. There's
no jumping up and down, dancing in the aisles, or giggling but there's a
feeling of great joy. Even when circumstances aren't the sort that we would
associate with well-being, success or good fortune, when the prospects don't
look good; even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, there
is still a sense of well-being, success or good fortune found in these verses.
What is the source of joy in
Psalm 23? The Lord is my Shepherd... You are with me.... You prepare a table
for me in the presence of my enemies. In fact, Scripture suggests that negative
experiences prepare us for and enlarges our capacity for joy (e.g. John 16:20,
Romans 5:3, 4; 2 Cor 7:4; 8:2; Heb 10:34, James 1:2.)
In Gary
Smalley's The Five Love Languages he says, ”If I feel loved…I can relax,
knowing that my lover will do me no ill. I feel secure in his/her presence. I
may face many uncertainties…I may have enemies in other areas of my spouse I
feel secure.... My sense of self-worth is
fed by the fact that my spouse loves me. After all, if he/she loves me, I must
be worth loving. My…spouse knows me as an adult and loves me. Her love builds
my self-esteem.... Feeling loved by a spouse
enhances our sense of significance. We reason, if someone loves me, I must
have significance (emphasis in the original)." What is he describing, if not a sense of
well-being? What else, if not joy?
Joy, then, is a sense of
well-being, success or good fortune based on the knowledge or understanding
that we are loved. It is our response to
love. What possible greater source of joy could there be than by the assurance
that God loves us?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the Sky:
The Quantrantid Meteor Shower peaks tonight.
On this day
in history: Louis Braille, Jacob Grimm and Isaac Newton were born. (The Julian
calendar places Isaac Newton's birthday on Christmas, but the Gregorian places
it on January 4)
There are
more marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history ~ Isaac
Newton
In the absence of any other proof, the
thumb alone would convince me of God's existence. ~ Isaac Newton
This most beautiful system of the sun, planets,
and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent
and powerful Being....This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the
world, but as Lord over all; and on account of his dominion he is wont to be
called Lord God "pantokrator,"
or Universal Ruler....[1] ~ Isaac Newton
Since every particle of space is always, and every indivisible
moment of duration is every where,
certainly the Maker and Lord of all things cannot be never and no where....God is the same God,
always and every where. He is omnipresent not virtually
only, but also substantially; for virtue cannot
subsist without substance.…It is allowed by all that the Supreme God exists
necessarily; and by the same necessity he exists always
and every where....And thus much
concerning God; to discourse of whom from the appearance of things, does
certainly belong to Natural Philosophy.[2] Isaac Newton
Blind metaphysical necessity, which is
certainly the same always and every where, could produce no variety of things.
All that diversity of natural things which we find suited to different times
and places could arise from nothing but the ideas and will of a Being,
necessarily existing[3] ~Isaac Newton
Yesterday
was one of the greatest and most beautiful days of my life. I tasted the
greatest joys. God was pleased to hold before my eyes the dazzling splendors of
eternal hope. After that, doesn't it seem that nothing more could keep me bound
to the earth? ~Louis Braille
[1] Newton, I. General
Scholium. Translated by Motte, A. 1825. Newton's
Principia: The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. New
York: Daniel Adee, 501. The Greek word pantokrator
is most often translated as "Almighty" in the King James Version
[2] Newton, I. General
Scholium. Translated by Motte, A. 1825. Newton's
Principia: The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. New
York: Daniel Adee, 505-506.
[3] Newton, I. General
Scholium. Translated by Motte, A. 1825. Newton's
Principia: The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. New
York: Daniel Adee, 506.
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