The Source of All My Joy: the Ocean at my Doorstep
"...I will go to the altar of God, to God -the Source of all my joy." -Psalm 43:4
God is not just a source of joy. He's not even just the source of joy. He's the source of all joy.
Ever felt joy that you couldn't describe? I can almost guarantee it was because something good was going on in your life, not something evil. That joy came from God. God created it and intends for you to have access to it all the time.
Here's what I mean...
Picture yourself by an ocean.
Now, imagine yourself taking a cup and trying to empty the ocean of its contents.
Do you think you could do it? What if you spent the rest of your days filling your cup with that salty water and dumping it somewhere beyond the shoreline? Do you think the fish under the water would start to tremble in fear that their home would soon cease to exist? I don't think so.
I live in Florida, the state that has three sides of it surrounded by ocean.... and it's beautiful. Sometimes, when I go to the beach, I stand on the ocean's edge and compare my size to the size of the ocean. I strain my eyes to look across and see the other side, but I always find that the water stretches out as far as the eye can see. It appears as though one could fall off the edge of the world if they kept going towards the horizon.
If you tried to empty the ocean of its contents, you'd fail.
God is like that ocean, except much greater....
Imagine that God is like an ocean (except bigger than any man can measure), He's full of love, joy, and peace, and the day you accept Christ as your Savior, you move to a house on an island in the middle of that ocean. Every time you want some love, joy, and peace, all you have to do is go right outside your door and dive into that ocean, and you'll be covered in it from head to toe. You'll be overwhelmed every time by the fact that you have an unlimited resource right at your doorstep.
That's what the psalmist meant when he called God "the Source of all my joy." He meant that there was no other place he could go to get joy. But when he went to God, he had more than he expected every time.
Maybe you're a Christian and you're wondering why you haven't found that to be true...
There's only one way to get joy. It's not something you should do. But rather it's something you need to let God do. We struggle and struggle on and on to find out what it is that triggers that joy. I'll tell you what it is. It's God.
What do you mean, Sandie? You ask. I'll tell you. Be still and let God reveal Himself to you. Joy isn't found in something He does, but rather in everything that He is.
The psalmist said something so wonderful that I have yet to fully grasp: "In your presence is fullness of joy." (Psalm 16:11)
Joy isn't found in doing for God or in gifts from God...
It doesn't say, "in your service is fullness of joy," nor does it say, "in your gifts is found fullness of joy." No. It's far more simple than that. It's in God's presence you find fullness of joy.
Like that ocean we mentioned earlier, He's right there and you have unlimited access into His presence.
"Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence." -Ephesians 3:18
As those waves splash onto the shore, so His love, joy, and peace will never cease to splash over you as you step deeper and deeper into His glorious presence.
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| A view of the Gulf of Mexico from one of Florida's many beaches |
Ever felt joy that you couldn't describe? I can almost guarantee it was because something good was going on in your life, not something evil. That joy came from God. God created it and intends for you to have access to it all the time.
Here's what I mean...
Picture yourself by an ocean.
Now, imagine yourself taking a cup and trying to empty the ocean of its contents.
Do you think you could do it? What if you spent the rest of your days filling your cup with that salty water and dumping it somewhere beyond the shoreline? Do you think the fish under the water would start to tremble in fear that their home would soon cease to exist? I don't think so.
I live in Florida, the state that has three sides of it surrounded by ocean.... and it's beautiful. Sometimes, when I go to the beach, I stand on the ocean's edge and compare my size to the size of the ocean. I strain my eyes to look across and see the other side, but I always find that the water stretches out as far as the eye can see. It appears as though one could fall off the edge of the world if they kept going towards the horizon.
If you tried to empty the ocean of its contents, you'd fail.God is like that ocean, except much greater....
Imagine that God is like an ocean (except bigger than any man can measure), He's full of love, joy, and peace, and the day you accept Christ as your Savior, you move to a house on an island in the middle of that ocean. Every time you want some love, joy, and peace, all you have to do is go right outside your door and dive into that ocean, and you'll be covered in it from head to toe. You'll be overwhelmed every time by the fact that you have an unlimited resource right at your doorstep.
That's what the psalmist meant when he called God "the Source of all my joy." He meant that there was no other place he could go to get joy. But when he went to God, he had more than he expected every time.
Maybe you're a Christian and you're wondering why you haven't found that to be true...
There's only one way to get joy. It's not something you should do. But rather it's something you need to let God do. We struggle and struggle on and on to find out what it is that triggers that joy. I'll tell you what it is. It's God.
What do you mean, Sandie? You ask. I'll tell you. Be still and let God reveal Himself to you. Joy isn't found in something He does, but rather in everything that He is.The psalmist said something so wonderful that I have yet to fully grasp: "In your presence is fullness of joy." (Psalm 16:11)
Joy isn't found in doing for God or in gifts from God...
It doesn't say, "in your service is fullness of joy," nor does it say, "in your gifts is found fullness of joy." No. It's far more simple than that. It's in God's presence you find fullness of joy.
Like that ocean we mentioned earlier, He's right there and you have unlimited access into His presence.
"Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence." -Ephesians 3:18
As those waves splash onto the shore, so His love, joy, and peace will never cease to splash over you as you step deeper and deeper into His glorious presence.
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