Rejoice

"There you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you." Deuteronomy 12:7

The word "rejoice" brings many images to my mind. I picture it as a celebration with a grateful heart. I recall many celebrations in my life such as birthdays, weddings and other special events that I have celebrated. Then I thought about rejoicing about God. That too can be a celebration. I realized that no matter what the circumstances that may surround our lives, that it does not have to dictate the circumstances of our hearts! We may find ourselves in unpleasant situations that are beyond our control and yet, in the middle of the storm, we can still rejoice. You see, we have a God that is beyond hurt, pain or even suffering. We can still praise God for being who He is and all he has blessed us with, no matter what our circumstances. I remember hearing about two ways that people can perceive life. They can look at life from the perspective of having a glass half empty or they can see it as having a glass that if half full. How am I to look at life? Am I to keep looking at the things that are going wrong in my life? Or does our God want us to see beyond that and see all the blessings that He has given us? I believe that His Word tells us to come before Him and just praise him, no matter what is happening around us. Praise Him! Rejoice! Thank Him for all that He has blessed you with. After all, we were able to get out of bed this morning and take a breath of air. There are many people that did not wake up this morning. So, we can start rejoicing by praising Him for the life He has given us, and He has blessed us with one more day on this earth.

Question: What are you truly grateful for this day? What has the Lord blessed you with, that you can praise Him for? Take a few minutes to tell God what you are grateful for and rejoice with Him for that blessing.