I love to gaze into a fire and get lost in the dance of the blue arc in the flames.  There’s a gracefulness that abounds, a wildness that calls, an urgency to be heeded, and a spark to embody.  I liken this to my quiet meditation time with the Lord.  

The joy of the Lord is our strength.  Where does this joy come from?  The Lord is passionately jealous of your time; He longs to spend time with you!  Spending time with us gives Him joy.  He sent His Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty of all our wrongs, so that He could spend eternity with us.  He is thrilled to be with us and anticipates our coming before Him ready to share and listen.  However, deciding to spend time with  the Lord is a choice we make. There are plenty of distractions in life to lure us away from gaining the strength that comes from being with our Father in Heaven.  And when we allow those distractions to keep us from Him, we miss out on His joy which is our strength!  When I think about it that way, it would be like denying myself water.  Eventually, I am going to grow weak and my bodily organs will begin to malfunction.  

Lists of things to do, expectations I have created in my mind or those thrust on me by others, agreeing to things because of a “people pleasing” disposition, or overcommitting out of my own enthusiasm are a few of the distractions that I must daily lay down at the feet of Jesus.   I can not function successfully when distractions navigate my decision making.  I know my distractions, I know I must lay them down/surrender them; no one else can do it for me.   This is an act of  worshipful surrender I make to God,  between me and God, and for the glory of God.

Distractions rob us of the Lord’s strength!  If the joy of the Lord is our strength and the Lord’s joy is what overflows from His time with you and me,  then it seems we should be bouncing with eagerness to be in His presence.  Distractions are the ploy of the enemy to kill, steal, and destroy.  My distractions begin in my thoughts.  I have to continually lay them down and clear my mind, knowing and believing that my Father in Heaven is eagerly awaiting to be with me, His joy, and to strengthen me!

Like with the fire gazing, when my gaze is set on Him, my mind is clear of distractions, and my heart is free of  offense and pride, then I set my thoughts on the written Word of the scriptures, and I drink in the truth from the pages, the oxygen that breathes life into my soul and ignites my heart with a passion that burns to know my Savior deeply.  He longs for me to come before Him and lay down all my cares, all my anxieties, all my hopes, all my dreams and desires, and to surrender that which is not mine in order to behold His beauty.  He delights in me; He sings over me, and He will fight for me ~ there is none like Him.  It is in the closeness of my time with Him that I feel strengthened and come away filled with a joy that moves me forward and sets me in motion.  No wonder the Lord modeled for us to start our day with Him.  I think it is simply one way to settle my thoughts that invites a state of relaxation and clears my mind.  It is this clarity that is required to truly draw near to our Savior.  When I draw near to Him, I gain His strength which overflows as joy in spending time with me! 

What keeps you from drawing near to Him?   What are your distractions? What are the obstacles, the roadblocks, or the mountains that are keeping you from Him?  He is jealous for you, for time with you!  You are His joy!  The download below offers help to identify and eliminate your distractions so you can start to set aside time to be strengthened each day by the Lord!

It is my prayer for you that your heart will burn for time with your Savior and be strengthened by your time in His presence so that His joy will strengthen  you each day!

Joyfully Healing from the Inside Out,