Sunday Soaking: Receiving and Responding

“And on that day they offered great sacrifices,
rejoicing because God had given them great joy.
The women and children also rejoiced.
The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.”
Nehemiah 12:43

Nehemiah wrote, “…God had given them great joy.” Joy then (and joy now) can only come from God.

Joy, like every good gift, comes down from God above. And when we recognize it as coming from Him, our response when we receive joy is to give it back. The gift of joy (then and now) prompts joyful worship.

(Check out this video on the Cross My Heart YouTube channel, for a contrast on JOY and HAPPINESS: https://bit.ly/2JY77Kq )

The passage also teaches us that joy from God prompts not only worship, but sacrifice. By its very definition, sacrifice is just that: a sacrifice. It should cost us something. And the more valuable our offering, the greater the sacrifice and, perhaps, the more profound the worship.

When we think of giving something to God, our minds automatically think of money. But for those of us living a life of blessing in the western world, time may be a greater sacrifice than writing a check. Our sacrifice may be our time, our talent, our treasure, or a combination of all these. The bottom line is that the more we overflow with joy, the greater our longing to give back worship and sacrifice.

In fact, sometimes the worship itself is the sacrifice.  When we choose to worship God from a place of difficulty, challenge, or hardship, our praise is a choice and a commitment. It may even be offered up with tears. The Psalmist calls this a “sacrifice of praise.”

When our son Luke was young, he and his best buddy Karl had a little game they played called, “The Useless Item of the Week.” When they would visit each other, they would bring a gift of something deemed useless: an old billiard ball, a lone card to an unknown game, a piece of electrical wire, and a foreign coin (to name a few.) Luke kept his “gifts” in an old Boy Scout popcorn can (appropriate for our Eagle Scout!) and enjoyed a good laugh with the addition of each new item received from Karl.

Are our offerings to God only those things that are useless or unwanted? Do we worship God when its convenient or when we feel like it?

Would you consider – especially during a season of pandemic and unprecedented challenges on many levels – that joy still flows? That God is still on His throne and still providing? That we have hope because, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” (John 1:14).

May the reality that God became man and came to us bring you great joy, no matter what your circumstances. And may that truth prompt a response of worship and sacrifice.

May your Christmas be joyous, worshipful, and sacrificial!

While we’re taking a break from the weekly Romans study, I hope you’ll enjoy last Friday’s video as I share about anticipating JOY!

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