Fight for It: A 21-Day DevotionalSýnishorn

Today’s Devotional:

I was sitting there in church again after a long week of busy schedules and challenges with my kids as our worship pastor invited us to stand and begin worship. My physical and emotional strength was depleted, but my physical body was there and willing. It only took a couple of minutes of turning my eyes toward Jesus, and I felt the joy of the Lord begin to strengthen me. I am pretty certain this has happened to you as well. The discipline of putting myself in the right place at the right time every single day and every single week has paid off again and again in those moments. I knew I did not have all the answers, and I may still need a nap later that day, but I was reminded about the source of my strength. I am not able to manufacture it, I am not able to muster it—it has to be given to me. There truly is no greater joy that I feel than when I am in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I often think of Paul and Silas, and what they chose to do in some of the most painful and difficult times in their lives; they were praying and singing. I noticed something in this passage as I read it that I didn’t notice before. It says, “while the others were listening.” That helps me, pushes me on, and brings accountability to this Spiritual life. There are others listening and watching as we choose words of worship and praise to God every morning. There are others listening and watching as we choose to put ourselves in the house of God every week to sing and pray, and their very eternal life may be changed as they watch me. The joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord fills me as I sing, pray, and worship. There is always a filling of the Holy Spirit when I am in His manifest presence. There is no busyness, pain, or struggle that He will not give me the strength to walk through. The beautiful thing about Him is that as you pray and sing and worship and fast today, that joy and that strength is for you too.

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Today’s devotional was written by Pastor Jenni O’Neal

Question:

• What do you need to surrender in worship today?

A Prayer to ‘Look Out’: Thank you, Jesus, that there is joy in your presence. As I pray and worship you today, I ask that you renew my strength with this joy that you give. I pray that I would have the courage and discipline to put my worship of you first in my life, first in my day, and first in my week. I pray that there would be someone watching me that needs you and that they would find you because of how they see you moving in my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.