Feeling like I was in the movie “Groundhog Day,” I bounded out my front door for yet another morning walk. The same pink daisies I saw yesterday stretched their faces up toward the sun.
The birds in the trees belted out an encore performance of their shrill chorus. I paced down the street, pushing myself to walk a little faster than the day before.
As I approached home again, huffing and sweating, I noticed my entire view consisted of my feet shuffling back and forth on the asphalt street.
Why was I looking at my feet? The ground was level—I was perfectly capable of walking with my head up. In fact, I remembered doing just that as I noticed the flowers and trees at the beginning of my walk.
I lifted my gaze up from the white tennis shoes and black asphalt to the green lawns and shrubbery—literally going from black-and-white to color. What a difference.
Oh, this is like my life. How often do I plod from chore to activity, forgetting to look up at Jesus?
I wondered how the colors in my day would brighten with the awareness of God at my side. What underlying shades of fear would vanish? What new possibilities would I see? From the glimpses I’d gotten in the past, I suspected my outlook would change in proportion to how much I included Jesus in my day.
Then I remembered the verse, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4), and noticed it didn’t say to just rejoice—it said rejoice in the Lord. I wasn’t sure what this meant, or how to do it. But one thing was certain, I couldn’t rejoice in the Lord with my eyes plastered on myself and my routine. If I wanted to experience God’s joy, I would have to be more consistent in looking to Jesus.
For the next month, or more, I plan on meditating on and praying about what it means to rejoice in the Lord. I have a feeling this will help me greatly in my quest for joy.
What do you think it means to rejoice in the Lord?
The Never Ending Gifts 