August 16, 2025 Devo

Joy. Could YOU use some? When I read this verse today, I thought about what a perfect prayer it is for so many of us. I’ve had several really intense conversations lately with folks who have been walking through some tough places. Some are dealing with health issues that have persisted for some time. Others are facing some overwhelming financial hurdles that are causing them to panic. I’ve had a few who had their hearts broken in relationships with people they cared deeply about. A couple of others are still reeling from the grief of loved ones they’ve lost. Things like this seem to suck the life right out of us, leaving us depleted and drained. In times like this, it’s hard to find the strength to just hold on. Can we ever dare to think that we can find JOY, too? The Psalmist seemed to think so. His secret? “For I put my trust in you.”
The Psalmist had enough faith to believe that God was greater than his circumstances. He believed God could heal broken bodies. He believed that God could replenish diminished bank accounts. He believed that God could restore broken relationships and mend broken hearts. He believed that even in the darkness of death, God can provide a light. He believed that ultimately, he was not left to the randomness of life or fate. He believed God alone held his destiny. Do YOU believe that? If so, you can have JOY.
Joy isn’t the superficial high of those moments when all is right with the world. Joy is the peaceful delight that I’m secure in the Arms of God when the bottom has fallen out of our world. Joy is believing that God CAN heal, CAN deliver us, and CAN rescue us from that horrible circumstance that we find ourselves in. But Joy is also the assured confidence that even when our deliverance is not THIS moment, it will be there in GOD’S moment. Joy is knowing that my body doesn’t have to be healed for me to be whole. It is knowing I can have little to nothing at all and still be content. It is the unshakable knowledge that, no matter what prison life puts me in, I am forever FREE!
Pray this prayer for yourself today. “Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.” No matter who you are and what situation you find yourself in, if life has put you back on your heels and taken the wind out of your sails, cry out to the Lord. Let Him heal, strengthen, and lift you. Put your trust in Him, and He will restore that precious gift of His you may have lost along the way: Joy. That’s God’s Word for you today.