Psalm 90:14-15 "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble."
Do you truly believe "God is good all the time and that all the time God is good?" I think only believers in Christ can have that deepest level of trust, but even believers have moments of doubt. There is joy to be found in every day for everyone because of God's grace and mercy. Needless to say, our days are not promised to be without trouble or affliction. I believe that a person's daily focus in life is in direct correlation to their faith in God and His promises. Can you find joy in every day of your life?
The verses above from Psalm 90 are about God's mercy and the eternal gain, and therefore to seek it at an early age. Mercy is a blessing sought after, a blessing that satisfies the heart, and the sooner you experience the mercy of God, the sooner you will be truly filled with joy.
An early interest in God’s mercy is essential to a happy life [studylight.org]
1. "That a man may live happily, that he may rejoice and be glad all his days, it is necessary that he should be early freed from all fears of death." Jesus death and resurrection gave victory over death.
2. "That a man may rejoice and be glad all his days, it is necessary that he should be freed in early life from a guilty conscience, and from apprehensions of God’s displeasure. He enjoys peace of conscience and peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
3. "To render a man happy during the whole progress of life, it is necessary that he should be early freed from care and anxiety, and especially from apprehensions of losing what he most loves. But it is impossible that an unpardoned sinner should feel perfectly safe, or that he should be free from care, anxiety, and apprehension."
4. "That a man may rejoice and be glad all his days, he must early learn, in whatsoever state he is, to be content." Circumstances don't define a believer's joy.
5. "That a man may rejoice and be glad all his days, it is absolutely necessary that he should early obtain the mastery of his appetites and passions, and be secured against the evils into which they would lead him. And no young man can have any security that he shall not be left to form such habits, unless he obtains that security which is afforded by God’s sanctifying grace and pardoning mercy."
As for myself, I was blessed early with God's gift of grace to be saved. His mercy has carried me through some dark and difficult times. I seek and find joy everyday because I know of God's great love and sacrifice for me. Sometimes, the search is a little harder but joy lies beyond my circumstances. Each day, I struggle with physical weakness but I can remember stronger days with less joy than now. My focus now is more on God's will for my life than my own. Whether that may be scheduling time with fellow believers, sharing God's truth with lost friends, making the most out of my time and strength left, reading God's word for comfort and direction, or just resting in God's provisions for me.
Trust in God=Joy!
"God who is great in justice when he chastens will not be little in mercy when he blesses, he will be great all through: let us appeal to him with unstaggering faith."
