“Let all those who love Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee: and let such as love Thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified” (Psalm 70:4).
She didn’t have many visitors. Her days were long and sometimes lonely. The deteriorating health conditions that she had demanded assisted living care. The nurses and aides who would come to her room often found her sitting by the window with her Bible on her lap. “How are you today, Miss Edith?” they would ask her. Almost always she would say, “Those who seek the Lord rejoice and are glad in Him. I might not be happy, but I am rejoicing, and how are you today?” Seldom did anyone get out of her room without hearing that statement and being asked that question. Most of the staff came to really see that this was not just a memorized statement. This was incredible truth being lived out before them. Miss Edith had much for which she could complain, but she didn’t. Her relationship with Christ made such a difference.
For today: We don’t have to be in assisted living facilities to see the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness depends on things going the way I would like them to go. Joy depends on my relationship with the Lord Jesus. Do you have joy?