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Growing Joy June 13 Devotional

by David Joynt on June 13, 2023


PHILIPPIANS 4:4 | 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

We usually identify joy as a feeling and an elusive one at that. Emotions can shift in seconds, altered by bad news or a harsh memory that suddenly surfaces. But joy is not just a spontaneous emotion, it is a practice that leads to a settled attitude.

 

Paul says, “rejoice in the Lord always.” Jesus is the true joy giver and the experience of His presence mitigates even the most terrible sorrow. To be embraced by God’s love is an experience of tremendous joy, as guilt and shame are overcome, and our endless striving rests in the grace of His goodness and the knowledge He is with us and for us. Private worship and devotion are an opportunity to know this joy in an often unforgiving and harsh world.

 

Do you take time to rest in God’s good grace?

 

 

Gracious God,

Help me to hear “rejoice in the Lord always” not as a burden, but as an invitation into Your presence. Let me feel Your joy again.

Amen.

 

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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