DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Jumping for Joy
by Mary Alice McGinnis
Have you ever spontaneously jumped for joy? A memory comes to mind when one of my family members did just that.
They were enjoying some precious moments - times that memories are made of, pleasant, long-awaited memories. But then the mood quickly shifted. Circumstances arose that threatened that precious time. It looked as though all of it would be stolen away and end abruptly.
There came a knock at the door. There was an uninvited guest on the other side of the doorway, and that person had a serious, emotionless look on his face. The uninvited guest came inside and words were exchanged. The bad news turned into wonderful news. The tide was turned, the threat extinguished, and that precious time together reestablished!
My family member could not help it. Spontaneously, they hopped up and down, skipped across the room, and jubilantly jumped for JOY!
What circumstances are threatening you right now? Is there news that is bringing you down? Are you experiencing the pain of dashed hopes that are leaving you feeling lifeless? Have the treasures you have set your heart on deteriorated, rotted, or vanished? Is there something happening that threatens to undo you?
There is good news waiting for you! You have the mercy of God! His mercy is His undeserved kindness and compassion. Though we are helpless, miserable creatures, God was so moved with compassion toward us that He took unthinkable action. He put all His compassion into bodily form—coming to us in the flesh of Jesus. He sent Jesus to rescue us. This deliverance was borne out of God’s divine, unmerited favor. His grace. He is our living hope!
Mary also heard disturbing news when an uninvited guest, the Angel, came to her.
“But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.'”
Luke 1:30
Mary responds with spontaneous JOY!
“. . .my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
Luke 1:47
Our inexpressible, glorious joy is centered on a person, not on our circumstances.
The prophets searched for this very person, this salvation that brings inexpressible, glorious joy! Through generations, they predicted it, and it all pointed to this glorious moment in time, when Jesus came as an infant. They predicted that Jesus would suffer for our sake. They still point to the fulfillment of all time, when God the Father will pour out His astonishing, unearned grace upon us once again when He sends Jesus, our risen King, to bring us safely home.
We have been given a new birth, into an inheritance that cannot be taken away. It cannot be destroyed. It will never die or decay. It will never rot and will never fade. Our precious time with our unimaginably glorious Heavenly Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, will last forever.
“Even Angels long to look into these things.” 1 Peter 1:12b
PRAYER
Lift your heart in inexpressible, jubilant praise to God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Go ahead, give yourself permission to spontaneously, JUMP FOR JOY!
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade."
Perhaps use the words of this song: Hallelujah Here Below by Elevation Worship.
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