While...

I’ve often times thought about how my wife and I just seem to instantly connect from the very beginning of our dating days way back when in high school.  But I had the revelation yesterday… that the reason it happened that way was because we had ALREADY developed a relationship as friends over the previous year!

If you remember the story (that I’ve probably told way too many times…), she sat behind me in our English class in 11^th grade where we interacted a lot.  It seemed that we always had a difficult time paying attention to the teacher as we kept saying funny things to each other throughout the hour-long class, throughout the entire year!  I don’t remember ever getting in trouble for talking in the class, but then, we did have a teacher change half-way through the year… I wonder if we had anything to do with that?!

This morning I once again found myself thinking about our relationship while reading Psalm 40:2 where the Psalmist declares “… and now He’s lifted me up into a firm secure place and steadied me, WHILE I walk along His ascending path.” (The Passion Translation)  The idea of God doing something for me WHILE I am following Him, actively believing His Word and/or doing something for Him, got me to further understand the possibility that what we do on a regular basis… or the things that we practice in our lives… will many (if not most) times determine the outcome of the situations we face each and every day.

As that thought percolated through my mind, it dawned on me, that from that very first day of school in September of 1969, when I was automatically drawn to that smiling, freckled-faced, seemingly always happy girl behind me… that we began to develop a relationship of JOY!  And even though we did not start dating until the very first year of school in the next school year… we simply continued on from where we left off in that class… and with all the activities during that year and the following summer that we mutually participated in with our combined group of friends with whom we enjoyed playing softball, volleyball and took many trips to the beach!

I can honestly say, without any shadow of doubt, that developing our relationship of JOY was one of the easiest things for us throughout the ensuing 48 years that we were together.  It was the atmosphere we raised our children in, it was a foundation of our ministry, and I found it to be one of the most secure places that steadied me throughout the long journey we fought for Piper’s health during the last eleven year of her life. (See: Psalm 40:2)

From my personal experience, I can attest to the fact that our relationship and guiding attitude of JOY led us to experience both the best and the worst times that touched us, our immediate family, our church, our jobs, our community and our world in a very different manner than many of our extended family and friends.  Simply said, while some reacted in worry, anger, fear, doubt and/or unbelief, we tended to automatically look for the best… what we believed to be God’s best as written in His Word… as the solution to whatever we faced. 

Our focus on His JOY that we diligently continued to surround our lives with, caused us to see things differently.  And it was… and still is… the focus we steadily practiced in our daily lives… I know that I can’t help myself but to seek out and act in His JOY as soon as I get up every morning.  And knowing my wife… she is very much over-flowing with the super-abundance of the JOY of the Lord… now within in His magnificent presence… within the heavenly realm as I write this post today!

So, what things do you PRATICE in your life?  JOY, PEACE, TRUST in the LORD and an attitude that knows that God is in the business of making the IMPOSSIBLE - POSSIBLE for you?  Or… some other things that just don’t serve to make you happy, peaceful or secure in your present and future?

Thinking back to our scripture in Psalm 40:2… What kind of things do you want God to be doing WHILE you do and/or PRACTICE the things you do in your daily life?