Broomfield UMC

How God Emphasizes Joy

by Shahni Shirazi, sshirazi4@gmail.com

Come, let us raise a joyful song,

a shout of triumph to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into Your presence with thanksgiving,
singing songs of triumph.

For you are a great God, a great king over all gods.
The depths of the earth are in Your hands; mountains belong to You.
The sea is Yours, for You made it;
and the dry land Your hands fashioned.

Let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the One who made us.
For You are our God, and we are the flock that You shepherd.
We will know Your power and presence this day,
if we will but listen for Your voice.

Let those who would seek
continue seeking until they find.
When they find, they will become troubled.
When they become troubled, they will be astonished.
When they are astonished, then all will be theirs.

Good morning:

As I reflect on yesterday's message, both in the chapel and in youth group I see how God emphasizes joy to me. Through everything we go through joy can remain constant and is different than happiness. I watched The Incredible Vegetables with Alistaire and there it was again. If we know God, we have nothing to fear. We must remain in Him and listen to His voice. He is breaking my foundation so that my foundation can be grounded in Him. He has broken me so I may see His joy again and His love which no one can give me. He has broken me so I can even see myself through His eyes, I may experience His peace. He teaches me patience everyday and how to be an example of that to Alistaire. He has shown me kindness through all of the people I have encountered and shown me how selfish I am at times. Last night, I cried because of my selfishness and the horrible person that I truly am inside on my own. Without Christ, I have no goodness, no faithfulness, no gentleness and most definitely no self control. So I pray for each of us that His fruits come to fruition in our lives each day. I now understand what it means to take up your cross daily and we don't have to fear what is to come because our lives are in God's hands and once we take the time to listen and reflect on Him, we have the choice to walk in His will for our lives. What a glorious revelation for me to actually comprehend this instead of just reading His word and knowing that He says this to each of us. I can now live it! The greatest gift I have is Alistaire and the greatest gift I can give is Christ. Thank you all for your prayers, support and guidance as Pastors, friends and mentors.

Love in Christ,

Shahni Shirazi