Monday Morning Manna: Discovered Joy

I was preaching in a church where I knew no one, not even members of the ministerial staff. No one had contacted me prior to the service to inquire as to my subject or scripture. It so happened that I was preaching on “The Fullness of Joy” from Psalm 16:11 – “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” To my shock, just prior to my sermon, a soloist sang, “Come, Ye Disconsolate.” That is a wonderful old hymn, with lyrics by Thomas Moore, with powerful lines like, “Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.” It was sung beautifully by the soloist, but the overall message of the song did nothing to prepare the audience for the sermon on “Joy,” nor did the sermon do anything to follow-up the message of the solo. While I was not sure how much joy was felt by the audience, I got a real joy out of the experience. Swiss author Victor Cherbuliez wrote, “Half the joy of life is in little things taken on the run.” So, when things don’t seem to fit together in sync, discover the joyful side.

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.