Rest and Reset: A 30-Day Devotional to Revive JoySample

God's Good Grace.

God will send His word to heal a heart lacking joy. As you begin your Christian journey, you are hopeful that God will sustain you and that His grace will be enough in any situation you face. But what happens when you are kept in faith, yet your joy diminishes? That is, you are in the faith, you love God, and your deep desire is to do His will. You attend church, serve, love others, and so on, but not from a place of rest. Instead, there is relentless mental and spiritual striving because you feel as though you must work harder at simply being a Christian due to what you see as a dry season. What you know to be true isn't what you feel deep in your soul. These feelings may have caused you to wonder if you are still in God's good grace.

Of course, we can't escape God's love and mercy, but what do you do with the feelings that seem to stir your heart toward emptiness because you feel alone? You read about joy and even see it through the screen from other professing believers, but still, Joy feels out of your reach. The moments when you do sense relief, maybe during worship or when you're picking up your favorite meal or matcha, you are present, and it seems as if you are on the right track. But then you return home and realize that nothing has changed.

In the book of Ezekiel, chapter 37, the hand of the Lord was upon him when He carried him by the Spirit and set him in the middle of the valley, which was full of bones. As he walked through the valley, observing their dryness, God asked him a question, "Son of man, can these bones live? Ezekiel answered, O Lord God, thou knowest." The Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones and say, "Hear ye the word of the Lord…Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live."

It's important to note that when God asked Ezekiel a question, he didn't try to give a deep theological answer; he said, "God, thou knowest." There is humility in his answer—a longing to hear God's direction or word more than what he presumes could happen. God gave Ezekiel a powerful and symbolic experience to restore hope that Israel would not be exiled forever. Although things appeared dead and there was no evidence of life, God had a plan. The captivity wouldn't last forever.

In this 30-day devotional, we will explore scripture and the prophecies of a promised joy that God has given to all believers. Dry seasons are necessary, but they won't last forever. The Lord loves you and has a plan for your life. There is a promised rest and hope for your future when you seek God, trusting that He knows. The word of God will restore joy to the corners of your heart and enable you to walk in grace despite your circumstances. Trust the Lord.

Be Encouraged.