A Glad heart

On September 15, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 12: 25 

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad.

We looked at Philippians 4: 6 yesterday which instructs us to be anxiety free. Now see this adage from Proverbs regarding anxiety. There is a reason our Heavenly Father wants us to be free from anxiety. It is not healthy. Our hearts are not equipped to carry anxiety. It weighs down the heart and will eventually make the body sick. We must, therefore, learn how to counter it. Today’s verse joins yesterday’s to show us the way out of anxiety.

A good word makes the heart glad. How does that knowledge help us? Consider this verse, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things,” (Philippians 4: 8). We can choose what we meditate on. You can ruminate on the bad news or you can get into the Good News! You can listen to news media, your negative uncle and the water cooler gossip or you can listen to the gospel. You can listen to what your relatives say about you or you can listen to what your Heavenly Father says about you. Now, which do you think is going to make you feel better? Which is going to make your heart glad?

You see, to some extent, we weigh down our own hearts by our choices of what we listen to and to what we give our attention. I am going to say this plainly, if you are listening to the evening news more than you are reading your Bible, YOU ARE MISSING IT. Your spirit is not a garbage disposal. It is the resting place of God. You cannot let the world fill it with contaminants and still feel light and glad. Of course, you are going to feel anxious, angry and frustrated. How can you not?

You’ve got to get the Good News into you. You need it! The Word is health to the soul, spirit and body. No joking! Whatever you meditate on is going to grow within you. That is why Solomon encourages us to find the good word. Hang out with those who are positive and affirming and definitely those who have God’s Word in their mouths. Let your heart be glad.

Back to Top

Gladness

On September 30, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 70: 4

Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad because of you. Let those who love your salvation continually say, “God is great!”

This is a good meditation. Can those who seek Yahweh really be glad? Is there really something in seeking Him which can bring us joy? Our theology says so but does our life, our attitude, our words? Do we go about proclaiming, “God is great!”

I think we believe it but in our busy days we are not always in touch with the deep thoughts of our own minds and hearts. David’s world was more focused and though tumultuous, at some level I think it was simpler. The variety of distractions in our lives pulls us away from our own deep thoughts and there is little time for quiet contemplation. Dr. Caroline Leaf says we rarely pause to think any more and if that is true, how do we know what we think?

How much time do any of us spend engaged with our heart and our emotions? Do we seek our inner self to find what beats in our hearts? How is it that we can seek God if we haven’t taken the time to know ourselves? And then, who are we in Him?

I think we will rejoice when we seek God and find that He is closer to us than we previously perceived. I believe we will be glad as our seeking draws us into a deeper relationship with Him. As He becomes more of our every day, we do find peace and joy. The greatest part of this is that there is no limit to the extent of closeness we can achieve with the Father. Our walk with Him today may be far superior to that of yesteryear and yet, a mere shadow of tomorrow’s intimacy.

If there is one thing our faith walk requires, it is seeking the Father’s face. When we seek Him, we find all because He is all. When we find Him in greater measure today than yesterday, we find more of His goodness and the joy is a mere by-product of being with the Father. Seek with all your heart and that heart will rejoice and be glad.

Back to Top