ZPCBlog

About the author: Hillary has been attending ZPC since she was 13 years old. She and her husband Rudy are active members of the ZPC community. And her two kids are just as active. She has been a Deacon of Fun in the past and a summer youth intern in the way way past. Thanks to this virus she was furloughed from her job for six months. God blessed that time and now she’s back to work in the best way possible. 

THIS WEEK'S SCRIPTURE: ISAIAH 35:1-10

Many of us find our quiet time with God in the morning before our day gets underway. I’m not much different. I usually have a small window of time from when my youngest gets on the bus to when my oldest wakes up. That’s my time and I don’t always spend it with God. My intention is to spend it with God but if I pick up my phone or start putting dishes away my 30 minutes disappears. Jerry’s challenge renewed my commitment to that quiet time in the morning. 

I’ve used the scripture to keep my mind from wandering during the meditation. God uses this to imprint his word in my heart and my head. I’m memorizing scripture again, like I used to as a kid. I used to have tons of scripture memorized and way too much of it has slipped away. This 15 minutes of medi

tation is bringing it back. There have been multiple times during this challenge when the scripture we’ve meditated on that week comes back to me in a moment I need it. It’s a double jolt of joy. Joy that his word is in my heart and joy that it is more readily available. 

Joy is all over Isaiah 35. It’s even titled Joy of the Redeemed! My first read through of Isaiah brought such a huge smile to my face. This chapter is full of joyful anticipation. You can’t wait for the coming of the Lord. The language used builds the excitement. I love the images “Like a crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy,” and “Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert” and “Gladness and joy will overtake them.”

This forty day challenge has brought me joy. It isn’t always easy. Less than two weeks into the challenge my family had a close contact with a COVID positive person. Two weeks of being home was tough. My easy quiet time evaporated. I had to work harder at finding it. I failed some days but those were usually the days when God whispered scripture to me and gave me joy and motivation not to let another day slip by. 

One of the places I sit to read and meditate lets me look at this picture of my kids jumping waves in Michigan. I love it for so many reasons but mostly because it captures their unbridled joy. We are in a season where joy can be hard to find. What brought us joy before may not be safe right now. I encourage and challenge you to find unbridled joy in something as simple as jumping the waves.

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