Doug Van Pelt

Eyes Wide Open

Ten Songs by Adam Again is a fantastic album that stands the test of time. The funk and backbeat is so thick and powerful; and the lyrics are dead-on great. I had to hear part of that album on the way to work this morning. It's fun how a memory of a good album will lead to a slight longing; and then it's really enjoyable to hear it and drink up its goodness.

Psalm 16 offers us some security -- if we believe it. In verse 8 it says:

"I have set the Lord always before me.
Because He is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken."

If we truly believe that God has our backs, then we will "rest secure," as verse 9 states. Verse 10 is a messianic verse: "...because You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay."

"You have made known to me the path of life;
You fill me with joy in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand."

When Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life; and that more abundantly," He used that Greek word for life -- zoe. (pronounced zoh-A) At the very least He was referring to a better life. At the most He was indicating that God's Spirit will infuse us with a supernatural kind of life that we were created for -- one that flows through our veins almost involuntarily, like electricity through a cord. In God's presence is joy. I've certainly experienced that.

I wonder, though, if all the believers I know have. From hearing some friends talk, it almost sounds like joy is an alien concept to them. I've never confronted them about this or said anything in judgment, but I surely hope that they have experienced this joy. One thing that "haunts" me (in a good way) is a memory I have of a room full of people at a winter church retreat long ago, when in or after a time of worship everyone in the room spontaneously started hugging one another. I knew then and still know now that those people (and believers who drink up God's presence) are the happiest people on earth. I don't have a formula to hand out, because this joy and "presence" thing has one bold requirement -- God showing up. I don't know of (or believe that there is) a method to conjure up the God of the universe (as if He were a geni or spirit under our command). But from experience I know that usually it involves a thankful heart and a worshipping action. While joy is a little deeper than the simple emotion of being happy or ecstatic, I don't want to imply that we should live for a feeling or an experience. These things are great, they are deeply moving; but they are temporary. Joy can be an attitude that carries a person in a very calm, minimal energy way. That person with God's joy may not even be smiling. (Gasp!) It might just be a calm and quiet confidence that strengthens them.

"The joy of the Lord is my strength."

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at April 21, 2005 08:22 AM