{"id":4294,"date":"2022-12-23T10:52:24","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T15:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=4294"},"modified":"2023-02-27T22:25:47","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T03:25:47","slug":"kept-day-and-night-even-when-we-feel-unprotected-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-2-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=4294","title":{"rendered":"Steps of Delight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When I was a kid we had no cell phones, no internet, and no video games. Personal computers hadn\u2019t been invented. We had four TV channels, if you included the educational channel. A few shows were in color including, Disney\u2019s Wonderful World of Color, which aired on Sunday nights. So, we spent a lot of time playing outside.<\/p>\n<p>At the bottom of my road, my good friends Larry and Lee lived next to each other. On Saturday mornings, I might watch a few cartoons, but I much preferred being with my buds. As soon as possible, I\u2019d hop on my bike and coast down the hill to their houses to hang out.<\/p>\n<p>One Saturday morning, in my excitement, I arrived earlier than usual. Seeing no activity at either house, I parked my bike and waited on a short stone wall in between their two houses. I don\u2019t remember who showed up first, but I do recall my delight when one of them emerged from their house. These were my good buddies and we had so much fun together riding our bikes to the community pool, fishing in the creek or playing whatever sport was in season.<\/p>\n<p>I enjoyed being with my friends and I read that God delights to be with me even more than I wanted to be with Lee and Larry.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the\u00a0Lord\u00a0was my stay. He brought me forth also into a broad place;\u00a0He rescued me, because He\u00a0delighted\u00a0in me\u00a0<strong>(Psalm 18:18-19 NASB).<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>This is quite hard to believe, and I don\u2019t always feel as if it\u2019s true. Yet, if I lived the moments of my day in the splendor of this reality, my life would be wonderfully different.<\/p>\n<p>But how?<\/p>\n<p>First, I must realize the facts concerning God\u2019s love for me, then I must act upon the truths or count them as so.<\/p>\n<p>Realize and Recon, the two step of walking in God\u2019s delight.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>REALIZE<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><strong><em>Realize<\/em><\/strong><strong>\u00a0\u2013 to become aware of something as a fact, understand fully<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are many verses in the Bible about how very much God loves his children.<\/p>\n<p>Following is just a few to personalize in a conversation with God:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Before the world was formed,\u00a0<em>You chose to love me <\/em>and to\u00a0<em>adopt me as Your child\u00a0<\/em>[1]<\/li>\n<li><em>You\u2019ve loved me with an everlasting love, <\/em>a love which is unaffected by any of my thoughts, how I feel or even my choices [2]<\/li>\n<li><em>You\u2019re familiar with all my ways<\/em>,\u00a0<em>You weaved me together <\/em>in my mother\u2019s womb,\u00a0<em>Your thoughts toward me are beyond number\u00a0<\/em>[3]<\/li>\n<li><em>Your love for me surpasses understanding<\/em>. Even the breadth, width, length and height of the ocean and the sky above doesn\u2019t adequately portray how delighted You are in me [4]<\/li>\n<li><em>Even when I was against You<\/em>, dead in my sinful ways and lost with no hope,\u00a0<em>You gave Your very life so that we could be together forever\u00a0<\/em>[5]<\/li>\n<li><em>You rejoice and shout for joy when You\u2019re with me <\/em>[6]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pause a moment and relook at these truths. Take note of any which your mind pushes away as not true. Perhaps there\u2019s a lie you\u2019re believing which repels the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Spend awhile in prayer disagreeing with the lie, recognizing that God\u2019s word is far more reliable than historically faulty thinking.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>RECKON<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><strong><em>Reckon<\/em><\/strong><strong>\u00a0\u2013 rely on something to be sure.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In verse 11 of Romans chapter 6, Paul tells us to reckon ourselves dead to sin. Other translations say \u201cconsider\u201d. The idea is to\u00a0<em>personally<\/em>\u00a0count as a fact something that is true. As certain as a bank statement is reconciled, and there is no \u201cmaybe\u201d about it. It\u2019s either reconciled or not. What God says is true. We\u2019re to reckon it so.<\/p>\n<p>For example, I read God delights to be with me, that\u00a0<em>I<\/em>\u00a0cause Him to be joyful. Though this seems unbelievable, His word says it\u2019s true, so I reckon it so.<\/p>\n<p>From what we realized above, we rely on to be true:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Before I was even born, God chose to love me<\/li>\n<li>God adopted me to be His child<\/li>\n<li>God loves me with a love which can\u2019t change, even when I sin<\/li>\n<li>God knows everything about me, yet still loves me<\/li>\n<li>God uniquely fashioned me in my mother\u2019s womb<\/li>\n<li>God thinks about me all the time<\/li>\n<li>God loves me with a quality of love which doesn\u2019t fit in my mind. His love is beyond measuring. It surpasses knowledge and doesn\u2019t fit in my mind<\/li>\n<li>God loves me with a love which is greater than my disposition toward Him. Even when I was against Him, Christ gave His life for me.<\/li>\n<li>God loves me so much; I bring Him joy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Practice the Rhythm<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Pick one amazing truth about God\u2019s love for you a day and do the two-step.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Realize it<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 lodge it in your mind<\/p>\n<p><strong>Recon it \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0consider it true no matter what rises in opposition<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Nevertheless\u00a0I am continually with You;<\/em><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>You have taken hold of my right hand. (<strong>Psalm 73:23<\/strong>\u00a0NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Remember, as you walk, He\u2019s taken hold of your hand.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Prayer<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><em>Lord, knowing your love changes everything. Please reveal your great delight in me now and always. Help me travel in your delight. By Your mighty divine power, destroy every speculation and lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of Your love for me. Fill my heart with fresh awareness of your delight in me in every step I take. In Jesus\u2019 name I pray. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>[1] Ephesians 1:4-5<\/p>\n<p>[2] Jeremiah 31:3<\/p>\n<p>[3] Psalm 139<\/p>\n<p>[4] Ephesians 3:17-19<\/p>\n<p>[5] Ephesians 2:4-5<\/p>\n<p>[6] Zephaniah 3:17<\/p>\n<p>Please Check out the new <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/cola-city-podcast\/id1670200547\">Cola City Podcast<\/a> . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God\u2019s nearness in the midst of life\u2019s adventures.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em>Novels by the Author:<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_36\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-36 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/10407876_10205268823978740_56971566099135395_n-1-e1454540429213.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-36\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rob Buck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Beyond-Time-could-change-event\/dp\/179035899X\">Beyond Time<\/a><\/p>\n<p>By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hope-Remains-Sequel-Beyond-Time\/dp\/197345940X\/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1547672424&amp;sr=1-8&amp;keywords=Hope+Remains\">Hope Remains<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I was a kid we had no cell phones, no internet, and no video games. Personal computers had not been invented. We had four TV channels, if you included the educational channel. A few shows were in color including, Disney\u2019s Wonderful World of Color, which aired on Sunday nights. So, we spent a lot of time playing outside.<\/p>\n<p>At the bottom of my road, my good friends Larry and Lee lived next to each other. On Saturday mornings, I might watch a few cartoons, but I much preferred being with my buds. As soon as possible, I\u2019d hop on my bike and coast down the hill to their houses to hang out. We\u2019d play basketball, baseball or football, fish in the creek or ride our bikes to the community pool to swim.<\/p>\n<p>I remember, in my excitement, arriving too early one Saturday morning. I saw no activity in either house, so I parked my bike and sat on a bank in between their two houses and waited to play with them. I don\u2019t remember who showed up first, but when one of them came out of their house, I was so happy to see them. These were my good buddies. We had so much fun together.<\/p>\n<p>Does God delight to be with me this way? Is He eager for us to be together? I read that He is, but I have a hard time grasping it.<\/p>\n<p>They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the\u00a0Lord\u00a0was my stay. He brought me forth also into a broad place;\u00a0He rescued me, because He\u00a0delighted\u00a0in me\u00a0(Psalm 18:18-19 NASB).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1908,1140],"tags":[2496,1040,1039,1043,1032,2495,1120,2489,1036,2492,2700,1049,191,1052,257,2497,1041,333,509,2017,1031,170,39,58,2490,1047,1033,756,1050,2499,75,1185,89,1051,1046,2503,2493,2502,15,2699,2500,2144,496,2491,1054,2137,1053,1042,2501,2487,26,1034,2494,2498,2701,282],"class_list":["post-4294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-delighting-in-gods-love","category-grasping-gods-delight-in-us","tag-adopted-child","tag-baseball","tag-basketball","tag-buds","tag-cell-phones","tag-chosen-to-be-loved","tag-disagree","tag-discipleship-rhythms","tag-disney","tag-eager","tag-ephesians","tag-ephesians-14-5","tag-ephesians-24-5","tag-ephesians-317-19","tag-everlasting-love","tag-familiar-with-all-my-ways","tag-fishing","tag-football","tag-god","tag-god-with-us","tag-gods-delight","tag-gods-love","tag-gods-nearness","tag-gods-presence","tag-good-friends","tag-grasping-gods-love","tag-internet","tag-jeremiah","tag-jeremiah-313","tag-lie","tag-life","tag-ocean","tag-prayer","tag-psalm-139","tag-psalm-1818-19","tag-psalm-7323","tag-realize","tag-reckon","tag-rejoicing","tag-rely","tag-repel-the-truth","tag-rhythms","tag-romans-611","tag-saturday","tag-shout-for-joy","tag-sky","tag-surpassing-love","tag-swimming","tag-take-thoughts-captive","tag-travel","tag-truth","tag-video-games","tag-walk","tag-weaved-together","tag-zephaniah","tag-zephaniah-317"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4294"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4608,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294\/revisions\/4608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}