Joy In God Is Eternal....

Psalm 28:7
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.

I saw the following line in a devotion this morning, "the joy of God is eternal". It got me thinking about this time of year and how my heart leaps for joy as I begin to feel even the slightest hint of fall in the air. It may be 89 degrees outside instead of 90 degrees, but if I feel even the slightest breeze touch my face, it's just enough to bring a feeling of joy to my heart. I have always loved the fall from the time I was a little girl. I love the rich colors of the fall. It's what I'm naturally drawn to. Warm colors such as deep rich browns, shades of orange and yellow. The beautiful colors of a bunch of Indian corn sum it up well. This time of year brings a smile to my face and makes me joyful. When the kids were small, I would bring home a mini pumpkin for each of the three kids from the grocery store as soon as they were available, in hopes that they too would get just as excited about the fall as I do. Every year, as far back as I can remember, I would buy and burn the Yankee candle called "Spiced Pumpkin". I love pumpkins. I love the way they look and how they come in so many different shapes and sizes. I love pumpkin flavor. In fact, I dreamt about pumpkin muffins last night since I haven't had one yet this year. I love pumpkin lattes, pumpkin bread and all the other pumpkin treats of the season.

BUT, by the time mid November rolls around, I can't even hear the word pumpkin without wanting to get sick. My point being is that the things that bring us so much joy now are simply "temporal". The feeling doesn't last. No matter how much we love and enjoy these things, they don't come anywhere near the eternal pure joy we experience from God. This joy we get from the Lord is not based on our circumstances. During the great storms in my life, I will sense the Lord blow through my spirit with His joy that cannot be duplicated by anything material here in this world. If you are a child of God (Galatians 3:26), not just His creation, you will spend eternity with Him which equates to eternal joy. I can't wait to be in heaven where there's no more tears, no more sorrow, no more pain and no more death (Rev 21:4-5). Now that thought truly makes my heart leap for joy!!!

Psalm 16:11
New King James Version (NKJV)
11 You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.