Forthright Fixation

“Katie, phone!” My younger sister pushed the phone toward me. “Oh, who?” I asked my sister, not expecting a phone call. I put the phone to my ear with a hesitant yet confident, “Hello?” From the other end, a radiant voice spun out the speaker with a reply. I instantly recognized it. It was Sarah. I smiled to myself as we exchanged greetings. “What’s up?” Her reply? “Oh, I’m just laying in some grass, soaking in the sun, it’s beautiful weather, and I thought of you.” Yes, I was speaking to Sarah. Sarah Joy.

As she spoke through the phone, I peered out the window, lifting the brown curtains and resting my eyes on the glowing earth. Sarah didn’t expound on any deep theological musing in our brief chat, but she was the exuberance of delight—godly delight in an amazing Creator. As she delighted in her surroundings, my heart also began to rejoice in the beauty of God’s creation. My day, rather dreary in spirits, wasn’t so dreary anymore. My soul began to rejoice in God!

Friends, I write of this not to inspire you to randomly give others a ring with your cell phone. But rather, I want to draw your attention to the impact of a joyful heart. Plain and simple, God used Sarah’s joy to lift my heart out of it’s state of weariness and into a stance of praise. Sarah didn’t have to give me 50 reasons why I needed to praise God. She probably didn’t even know that I really needed to take my eyes off myself that day. She was just going about her business, glorying in God with a merry heart. But it made a difference and lead another heart—mine—to worship. Let us also, by God’s grace, go about our business, simply glorying in God. And in this, may He use us to lift up the hearts of our neighbors, by stirring their hearts to worship God who is worthy to receive all honor and power and glory.

Filed under: Fellowship, Joy in Christ