.
Speak it
Forth
.
Pastor
Howie Stewart, Oklahoma
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A Song in Your Heart
I remember Joel Osteen telling a story
about a lady who kept a little songbird in a cage in her living room. This was no ordinary songbird, as the little
fella would sing continually, producing a rich variety of melodies and
tones.
But songbirds being what they are, the
cage needed an occasional cleaning. The
lady usually made a quick job of it, running the open end of the vacuum cleaner
hose around the cage while the feathered occupant stayed at the far end of the
cage. Cleaning time was brief, though,
as the lady swished the vacuum hose quickly.
Well one day, after a morning of
singing and a routine cleaning with the vacuum, the lady suddenly realized her
precious songbird was nowhere to be seen.
Had it escaped? A quick scan of
the room revealed no results. Then she
realized the awful truth. Frantically,
she removed the hose from the bag and sure enough, there was her little
songbird, ruffled and disheveled, huddling in the midst of the dust and
debris. Lovingly, she rescued him,
cleaned him up and placed him back in the cage.
Thankfully he was okay. But after
that traumatic episode, he never sang another note as long as he lived.
The moral of the story is this: sometimes life has a way of sucking the song
right out of you. What to do? Realize that as a child of God, you can still
have joy, even in the midst of trying times.
Jesus promised us that the joy He places in our hearts would be durable. (“…your
joy no one will take from you.” John
16:22). He also said that our joy
would be full, (John 16:24),
especially if we pray and take our burdens to Him.
You really need the joy of the Lord in
your heart these days. It will insulate
you and act to buffer your heart from the soul-jarring adversities of
life. You can still have a song in your
heart in the night, even when things are falling apart around you.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, a
by-product of your relationship with the Savior. You can experience His presence and allow Him
to fill you up. It may go against human
reasoning, but why not take Him up on it?
Yes, sorrow may hit you hard, but “…joy
comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5).
Pastor Howey
