“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, Rejoice!”  Philippians 4:4

Thought

Joy is found in the Lord, not in things. Joy is found in knowing that he always accompanies, sustains, helps, protects, and upholds me. How can I not rejoice? God loves me so much that he emptied heaven of his greatest treasure so that I could join him in glory. Joy is mine because of his grace.Prayer

Precious Father, thank you for always being there and knowing what is on my heart and caring for me in ways that I cannot even imagine. I long to know you face to face and share in the unbridled joy of heaven with you. Until then, I truly rejoice because I know my future is in your hands! Thank you in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

By Phil Ware
Used by Permission

Phil’s daily devotionals on https://www.verseoftheday.com

The post Joy in the Lord appeared first on Thoughts About God.

We visited very dear friends last week who have always been a blessing to us. They have prayed for us for years. The Lord has blessed them as well with wonderful family and friends. And even after retiring they have been blessed with relatively good, active and healthy lives. They are always serving their church, family and friends in ever practical ways.

We arrived at their home just after they had returned from the doctors office. The doctor had informed them that he has cancer and six months to a year to live. His response to us was all about making sure his wife was taken care of and rejoicing in having family that would be there for her. “It’s in the Lord’s hands,” he said. Then he took me out into his garden and gave us some rhubarb plants…

We can pray for a miracle, we can pray that God’s ‘will’ be done, we can pray that there will be little suffering, we can pray that the Lord will wrap His Holy Spirit around them and their family and give them peace and we can pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God for my friends, giving thanks for blessing them and using them to bless others even in these later days of their lives.

And it reminds me that I don’t say thank you often enough to my friends for being part of my life. It is the mosaic of people like you in my life that makes me who I am. So thank you, my friend, for being a blessing to me.

My prayer for you this week:

“Lord I pray that you will bless the latter part of our lives more than the first just as you did for Job. Amen.”
Job 42:12

by Alec Niemi
Used by Permission

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