Be Joyful and patient, and pray even when everything sucks !

Sunday  06 May 2012
If ever I got to thinking that my victories came from my own strength, today I am reminded that this is not so. I re-discovered a command in scripture that I had underlined in my bible some time ago. I have a habit of writing scriptures that I want to take note of in my journal as well. Every now and again, I read past journals because I have come to appreciate the merit of reminding myself of useful past discoveries. These discoveries, scriptures, wisdom words, realisations have been in fact key elements in shaping my future.
I call it a command because the style in which it is written is directive and I honestly believe it to be something  I should  act on practically.
Romans 12: 11 and 12 say :
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Today, I recognise how following this command has impacted the course and the outcomes of the hard to deal with stuff of my life. I think that reading, taking note of and internalising certain things, has made my brain store these things in a special way. There is this awesome power that God gives through His word as it comes back out from within you to act on your life. I may not remember specifically, what it says, or be able to quote it, but it is still active. This word must have entered into my internal operating system, it is the best kind of virus ever!

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I rejoice this morning because the outcomes and benefits are so real and evident to me. So, I got into a serious boogie-down during praise worship at church today. When I got up and started clapping and dancing, smiling and displaying joyous celebration, it may have looked like a thing of the moment. It may have looked like following what everyone else was doing, but this was not so. I was celebrating  what has already been, I am just grateful . My worship on Sundays cannot be centred only on what I gain from the pulpit that day. I find that my spiritual diet between services greatly enhances what I receive on Sundays, and so today's service theme came alive for me: the true vine.