6 of 7 Prayers for My Wife's Upcoming Year

Day 6 Gift: Joy-filled Dumbbells

You don't get stronger if your workout isn't challenging. You aren't tested when you're on the light weights. Let's pump up our joy muscles!

Verse: Nehemiah 8:10
“And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!””

Today's Prayer: God I pray that You would teach us the true meaning of joy. Holy Spirit unload the power of your presence on us in a way that trains us to be expectant of joy in all situations. Give us the strength to be joyful when we shouldn't. And the boldness to be joyful with everyone, even the people we don't really like. Let every breath be joy.

Today's song is everything I normally dislike about Christian music - on the surface I saw fluffy, wannabe pop with watered down lyrics by super famous TobyMac (at least super famous in the Christian world). The theme of an emotional high you get from God directly contradicts what I've been trying to learn recently with Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful above all things and that the truth of God's Word supersedes how I feel. But then I heard an interview with TobyMac about the song on K-LOVE. He directly quoted Jeremiah 17:9 and said, "I get it, but when the Holy Spirit is just overflowing in you, you feel it, and you know He is there." In that moment the Holy Spirit told me, "Dude! Lighten up! Don't avoid my joy when it doesn't come packaged exactly like you like it. It's true that you can't let your emotions control you, but when I show up, you will get emotional!" So just enjoy...let it flow...feel it...and watch Nolan dance!
Today's Song: Feel it, TobyMac

The wisdom of the one armed man

Whenever we travel, I try to leave behind a little doodle for the landlord. This one landed in Baltimore.

And yet,

“Better to have one handful with quietness
    than two handfuls with hard work
    and chasing the wind.”

Ecclesiastes 4:6

Day 318

[Text from image: Holy Spirit, Freedom - Good Intentions - Sinful Nature, Strict Obedience]

I just wanna bang on the drum all day (Genesis 3:19)

SCRIPTURE

OBSERVATION
The "Fall of Man" can be such an abstract concept to us. We've never known life that didn't contain struggle, pain, and death so it's easy to overlook that these things are the punishment of the very first sinful act. The one curse most Bible enthusiasts remember is painful child birth, but the primary curse for women appears to be in the end of verse 16. Perhaps because she wanted the knowledge for power, her punishment was that she shall always desire for her husband to rule over her. It seems Adam just went with the flow when he took the fruit from Eve so as his punishment he now has to struggle for every little scrap of food.

Before now I hadn't really considered that my punishment inherited from Adam is the curse of struggle in work. You might be thinking about people stuck in a job they hate, but even in a dream job many tasks are undesirable job requirements. It's important to note that according to Genesis 2:15 man was designed to work the garden. I believe this is why we often find joy in work. Our curse is not the work, but that the work would be a struggle.

These punishments are far surpassed by the more abstract concept of sin. The true curse in the "Fall of Man" is our separation from God. These struggles that we experience now are a minor reflection of consequences of choosing a life without God. Everyone will struggle in this life, but those that choose not to follow God will struggle far worse after death.

APPLICATION
If you are beaten down by your responsibilities at work, remember that it is your curse inherited from the original sin, BUT do not let it overwhelm you. Ephesians 2:8-9 shows that it's not your works that will save you but by the grace of God. Remember that God is in control and your struggles are only temporary. Persevere through your struggles but do not dwell on them any more than is absolutely necessary.

PRAYER
God,
Thank you for your saving grace.
Help me to focus on You rather than the sins of this world.
Amen.

For all those in the cleaning industry with a daily perspective of "To dust you shall return":