God’s Joy

The Desires of My Heart

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments 
Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:4 KJV

Often, I have taken this to simply mean that, if I make God my greatest desire, then He will give me anything else that I want. While this may be partly true, it misses the beauty which another translation reveals when it says, “Let your happiness be in the Lord”. In other words, when, the Lord is our greatest delight and happiness, then He makes a way for us to find Him!

Picture a young couple in love. One evening at a fancy restaurant, the man puts his plan into motion. After enjoying a delicious dinner and once the waiter has cleared the table, he falls to his knees, pulls a diamond ring from his pocket, and with tears streaming down his face he publicly proposes to the love of his life. At that moment, he has made her, his greatest delight. Now, hopefully, the lovely young lady responds with a joyful yes, and seeing that touching moment and the other diners erupt into applause. Yet our young friend has not yet reached his goal. Instead, plans are set in motion, invitations must be sent, a hall rented, and a date agreed upon by their parents, pastor and families. By faith, both of these people in our story are incredibly happy as they anticipate their wedding, But, when that day arrives, they will say their vows, exchange rings, kiss and walk out of the church for the first time as husband and wife.

Their joy is just a tiny picture of all that God has in store for us. For of course, Jesus is the groom in our story. He has publicly displayed His love, not at a 5-star restaurant, but on the cross. He has fallen to His knees, washed our feet and pledged all He is and all He has to us for all eternity. If we will say yes, then plans will be put into motion, guests invited, and a date set on which will be joined together forever. In our daily lives, we have a joy, because we trust that He is a good and loving God. He is our most valuable treasure and the ultimate love of our lives. Even better than this, we eagerly look forward to when all we have longed for will come to pass. Vows will be fulfilled, and a celebration like no other will happen on that day at His side when He will fully grant us the desires of our hearts!

For Me to Still Rejoice

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 

The mockingbird began to sing
Before the morning light
So filled with praise he could not wait
Until the sky was bright

And in the rains of afternoon
He kept on singing strong
All through the thunders crashing down
His notes still echoed on

When began the shadow's fall
I listened for his voice
And while the night came creeping in
He called to me rejoice

Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Philippians 4:4 ESV
 For Me to Still Rejoice by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright 2022 all rights reserved
Photo by Brian Forsyth on Pexels.com

What if Joy? Song

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

First I would like to thank Beth Alisan for encouragement to make my poem “What if Joy? into a song. Personally I was skeptical as song writing and poetry are much entirely different at least for me. But the idea kept nagging at me. Finally, I sat down with the guitar, prayed and worked on a melody over the last couple of weeks. By the way, I highly recommend the blog that Beth writes – Lessons from a Lab – I have always admired the multitude of life lessons that she has passed on to us while walking Adi, her Labrador Retriever. You can find it at https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/163893015

So thanks Beth and I hope you like this simple song. Have a blessed day all and no matter what you are facing, stop and ask the question, “What if Joy is the path that God is making to see me through?”