September 19
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Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. – Psalm 119:1(NLT)
RESULT OF OBEDIENCE
A poem and essay by ILMA
When you follow the Lord’s commands
You will not be overwhelmed by life’s demands
Those who live a life of integrity
They will have joy even in adversity.
When you follow the ways of Jesus Christ
There is peace that will envelope your life
Follow the instructions of the Lord
It will please him and bring him laud.
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Baker’s Evangelical dictionary defines “joy” as happiness over an unanticipated or present good. It is “sama” in Hebrew and covers a wide range of human experiences from sexual love, to marriage, to birth of children, the gathering of harvest, military victory or drinking wine. On the spiritual level it refers to the extreme happiness with which the believer contemplates salvation and the bliss of the afterlife.
Do you have joy in your heart? How do we know if we have it? I used to think that I have the joy of the Lord, but I only had fleeting happiness when I achieve the goal I set for myself. As the spiritual joy was mentioned in the definition by the Evangelical dictionary, it is an extreme happiness that is expecting always the bliss of eternal life which will be granted to those who love the Lord. When you follow God’s word, you will experience joy.
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PRAYER
Lord, grant me the gift of joy. You promised it as one of your Spirit’s fruits.
REFLECTION
How can we gauge that we have the joy of the Lord?
For more testimonials about God’s word, please go to YouTube and type ILMA’s poem devotional or go to www.ilmaarts.com posts. To receive emails of my poem devotionals, email me at ILMA.ARTS.STUDIO@gmail.com