40 Days in the Word - Power of the Word Sample

Theme | I Will Restore Your Joy

From | Chris Breen

Verses | Psalm 30:5, Psalm 126:5-6, Psalm 94:19

I love venting. I’m all about it. When life causes sorrow, anger, disappointment, and frustration, I love to get my feelings out in a healthy way via the great art of venting. One of the things I love most about our God is that He invites venting - it’s biblical, can you believe it?

God gave us the book of Psalms as a model that our God is not afraid of your real, raw emotions and reactions. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging pain and presenting it to God. We see David vent his heart out to God dozens and dozens of times. In Psalms 30 and 126, David shares about how this pain he experiences is accompanied by weeping - not crying, weeping (I’m all about a good weep too). So be validated in the fact that our God is not afraid of your venting, and He truly is the best listener.

But the best part about all this? Our God does not call us to stay in our pain or to stay in our feelings. Yes, He says, vent away, I will listen, but our God promises us over and over again that He will restore our joy.

See, our God is a God of restoration. And the joy He has for us is not temporary or ingenuine, but it is straight from the Holy Spirit. We don’t need to strive to achieve this joy or muster it up in our own strength, but we need only to lean on Him and His everlasting love, and He will replace our sorrow with joy. Psalm 94 says, ‘when anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy’.

I wonder today, would you have the courage to vent, let Him console you, and wait for the joy that can come only from God Himself? It is just one prayer away.

Prayer | God, I’m in pain right now. It sucks, a lot. I don’t understand it, I don’t know why I’m experiencing it, but right now I relinquish control over my life. I surrender afresh to Your plans and purposes for me. I let go, and I ask for the joy You promise in Psalms. The joy that replaces anger, sorrow, and anxiety. I will wait in Your presence until I receive what You have promised me as Your child. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.