Your Joy

Father,

Thank you for your sustaining care, abundant in grace and perfectly timed. We are captivated by your joy. We are refreshed by you and your generous presence, which overflows with love. Today we come before you in worship, acknowledging our need for you. With humble hearts, we cry out as we recognize how full and fruitful a dependent life is, one refined by your heart, desires, and mercy. 
Thank you for bringing freedom. You have given us hope and a new day. And we pray that we can grasp hold of the gift that it is. 

Lord, as we consider the theme of joy, we pray that we might experience your joy. By way of confession, many of us might have a complicated relationship with joy. We have forgotten what it feels like or never learned what your joy is like. Perhaps we have confused your joy with happiness and have chased after anything that would give us that fleeting rush. Some are still in mourning, so joy can feel like an awful or irresponsible way of life to embody. And still others are navigating crises, struggles seen and unseen, and the pressure to have it all together. Thank you that you know each of us and what we might be facing as we look to you and your joy. 

This morning, then, we ask that you till the soil of our hearts and minds. Remove the rocks and roots that have choked out life. Cultivate us. Renew our faith. Make the path clear to your living waters, which bring flourishing life, even in the quiet, fallow seasons of rest. Bless us with the conviction that we are not alone and that you have planted us alongside many companions who are seeking to grow, mature, and bear fruit for the banquet table. 

As we journey together, Jesus, we ask that you not only do a miraculous work in us. We ask that you turn those who might be considered weeds or chaff into strong trees full of life. For there is no one beyond your reach. No death or darkness that your finished work on the Cross cannot heal. However you might use us, we are open. Help us be sowers of your Good News, joyfully offering the people you place before us the hope we have received. Lord, as we pray in the quiet, remind us of those in our lives who need a quick reminder of your love. Who needs a call or a text? Who needs a visit or a letter? Bring those people to our minds and hearts, and give us the space to follow through with a response in the days ahead.

Amen.