Looking for Joy

In All the Wrong Places

All was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. —Ecclesiastes 2:11

Just last night, I was praying to feel the renewed sense of joy- the joy that I've felt throughout my life. While not completely gone, I don't feel it like I used to. And while I've come to the place where I can feel excited about a couple different options, I pray to feel that joy that I once felt.

People today are looking for joy in all the wrong places, although they usually call it 'happiness', something so fleeting. The writer of Ecc. was a rich man. He had everything in the world, so he sought pleasure, projects, entertainment, hark work. None of it brought him joy; it was all "grasping for the wind." There is only one who can bring joy, and I pray today that God might fill us with the joy that only He can bring.


In Belief

7A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."

19"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

20So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"

"From childhood," he answered. 22"It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."

23" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
-Mark 9:17-29

This passage has always been one of my favorites, because so often I feel like the father in the story. I want so much to believe that God will guide me, and on some level I do, but the presence of worry and stress show that I do not completely believe, so I pray "Help me with my unbelief." Jesus honored the man's sincerity, and I know that my God knows my heart. I pray that He help me with my unbelief, which yields the joy is truly believing my God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength.