OUR SEARCH for JOY - More Ingredients

Joy to you! I hope you are having a great Tuesday so far and I hope that our Coffee Hour makes it even better. Grab your coffee and let’s get back to this series of joy, the recipe of joy, and our search for joy!
After discovering many of the ingredients that make up the true essence of joy within us, I think it’s time that we get a move-on in our recipe for joy and theologically hop on over to the Psalms! Warning ahead: We may be here for a while, in the Book of Psalms, that is!
We are going to first stop Psalm 16:11 because there is a phrase I’ve heard many times that has intrigued me; maybe now that we’ve learned about the ingredients required for true joy, this may make more sense to me: “You will show me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy.” STOP!
Do you wonder what in the world “fullness of joy” means? Well, I’ll go ahead and confess my ignorance to you: I did until I looked at the words that preceded it and realized that it is when we are sitting at His feet, when we are worshiping, or when we are just listening to songs of worship with our mind and heart stayed on Him, this is being in His presence. And only in His presence is our joy complete, at least complete as it can be in our tent of flesh!
What other ways are there to be in His presence? Well, here’s a hint. This Psalm is referred to as a messianic Psalm because it is actually quoted in the New Testament by Peter and Paul referring to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Also if we look at the final part of this verse, it says “At Your right hand are pleasures forever more.”
So is this speaking of when we will actually be face to face with Him? Absolutely! But – yes, I said but – we don’t have to wait until we have resurrected into our eternal life to be in His presence; we can begin to practice that right where we are. What does that look like? Well, I’ll share how I endeavor to sit in His presence.
When I get out of bed and stumble toward the coffee pot, make my coffee, and snack, I go into my place where I can just sit and sip on my coffee, be still and seek His presence. Now, I’m just like a lot of you out there; I get distracted quite easily, so oftentimes it takes a real pressing in. When I’m feeling extra challenged by ADD, or feeling pulled by the things I feel I’ve got to do, I press in, grab my IPod and put in my ear plugs to tune out the world and tune into worship. Worship massages my heart in a most profound and powerful way and helps me to focus in on He whom I am truly in love with and in awe of. Because of my ADD, sometimes I don’t last a whole song before I find myself journaling my thoughts and crying out to Him. (Yes, I said ADD, but that’s another story for another day, and any of you who have been diagnosed with this, please know I empathize with you more than ever!)
I guess all I’m trying to say that though many think this Psalm is speaking of when we get to heaven, I believe that it is also peaking of the joys and benefits of a life lived in companionship with Christ! We don’t have to wait until eternity to enjoy joy!

Evinda