Daily Devotional for Sunday March 24, 2019

The key is to serve the Lord with JOY!!!

(Psalms 126:5,6)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Father, I thank You for this day. I know that today was not promised to me, but it is a gift from You. Dear God, You know the pain I have today from what has happened in my life. I am tired of carrying this pain with me day after day. It is robbing me of my joy, of my peace, of knowing the abundance that this life can offer. I trust Your Word today that tells me that I can give this burden to You, that You will take it from me. I trust Your Word today that tells me to cast my cares on You, because You care for me. In the name of Jesus, I give You the pain of my past today. In the name of Jesus, I surrender it to You. Take it from me, and fill me right now with Your joy, with Your peace, and let me live from this day forward in FREEDOM FROM MY PAIN! In Jesus name I pray...AMEN!!!

So many times I see Christians with long faces, head down, shoulders slumped, looking like the fans of a football team that just lost the big game. Often when I talk to other believers, they tell me that life is rough and serving God seems like a trip to the dentist for a root canal. Is it any wonder why those who are without Christ aren't real excited about "serving God."

I'll tell you a secret that has worked well for me over the years. When I am in trouble. When I have many problems all around me. When the enemy is attacking on all sides. My first response is to pray, then to get busy serving God. I am a firm believer that if we are about His business, He will be about our business. If I am serving Him, He is serving me. That doesn't mean everything goes away and disappears. It isn't magic. But it works because when our focus is on others, it allows God to work on those things in our life only He can fix.

The key in service though is to serve with joy! Serving others should not be a task, but something we should look forward to and are joyful about. Joy is infectious. It spreads to others. Serving without joy almost makes your service ineffective. How many times have you eaten at a restaurant where the waiter or waitress was unpleasant. At times, you almost wish you could just get the food yourself and not have to even deal with them because of their bad attitude.

Serving others should be a joyful experience, if for no other reason, because it is what God expects from us. When you focus on why you are here, to serve and glorify God with your life, it should make you joyful because you are fulfilling the purpose for which God created you.

I am going to leave you with these thoughts today to ponder and pray about. Do you serve with a joyful heart? Do people see your service as something you do grudgingly or something you do joyfully? Joy is something you can't buy and something most people long for each day.

Have joy if you know Christ because your eternal destination in heaven is established. Have joy when you serve Him because that is part of the reason God created you. Show those you serve joy because they will have a desire to know the kind of joy you possess, and you can use the opportunity to tell them that kind of joy only comes from knowing Christ as your Savior.

I love you and am praying for you today. Never think it is a burden when you email me your special prayer requests. It is a joy on my part to serve you. It is no accident you are reading this devotional, it is no accident that God is speaking to you about the problems you are facing. God can speak to us in many ways, through many people.

Know I am here to help you, pray for you, and see you be victorious over the things in your life keeping you from enjoying all of the rich blessings God has in store for your life. Let today not only be a day of joy, but let that joy be part of your life each and every day!

In His love and service,

Your friend, brother, and co-laborer in Christ,

Bill Keller