For Thou, LORD, hast made me glad through Thy work: I will triumph in the works of Thy hands. Ps 92:4

I pray that you had a wonderful and blessed time of worship as you gathered with the saints at your local church this past Lord’s Day. I pray that joy and gladness richly abide within your heart as you venture through this week. Across the landscape of our nation and around the globe of the world, there are things that trouble and disturb one’s heart with burdens as to cast shadows on the joy, gladness, and delight of knowing God’s presence. We find in this scripture passage how the psalmist faced the troubles and trial in his life. He remembered and recognized the work of the Lord for it “made me glad.”  God’s works are to be praised (Ps 107:26). He remembered God for “the joy of Your salvation” (Ps 51:12), the joy and gladness he experienced in God’s presence (Ps 100:2), and the faithfulness of God to His people (Ps 98:3). The psalmist encouraged himself in the Lord and strengthened his faith with hope to say, “I will triumph in the works of Thy hands.” My friend, troubles exist and abound more and more each day. Remember God’s goodness, His faithfulness, and His mercies. Rest and abide in His great and sufficient joy. Don’t let the joy the lives within you pass as a vapor like the morning dew but be refreshed and renewed by the living waters of Jesus Christ that you become “a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (Jn 4:14) that others may drink the living water of life. Be still and hear the Holy Spirit say, “Let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me” (Jn 14:1). Then joy will overflow your soul. Father, thank You for Your Faithfulness, Your Goodness, Your new mercies every morning and the abundance of Your joy that fills my soul. I praise You and honor You in the worthy Name of Jesus. Amen.

And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. Gen 26:20

The people who are well known and well-remembered are those who had time in the spotlight. They may be for their achievements, acts of bravery, impact and contributions to society, or testimony that continues to inspire. Today, those who claim the spotlight are athletes, actors, entertainers, social media gurus, government leaders, and even world villains claim their time in the spotlight. Yet there those who greatly impacted lives for meaning and success but go unnoticed and are soon forgotten. Weaved into all our lives are teachers, care-givers, service workers, and so many others who impact our lives for a moment, often in the most simplest way, and go unnoticed as their work is overshadowed by others. In our scripture passage we see a man for which little is known, who lived in the shadows of two great patriarchs of faith. Isaac was the son promised to Abraham and Sarah, who were beyond years of childbearing. In childhood, he followed his father to the altar as the sacrifice to God. The spotlight soon fades from his hall of faith and to his commonplace of diggings well. We might wonder that he should be classed with Abraham, the father of all who believe or his son Jacob, who prevailed with the Angel and became a Prince. He was passive, quiet, given to thoughtful meditation (Gen 24:63). God’s purpose includes all sorts and types of men, and Isaac dug wells of which men drank for thousands of years. He was constantly pursued by enmity, jealousy, and strife, as the names of his wells attest. But each time he consistently retired from the conflict and yielded his well to dig another. Finally, his enemies had to confess that he was mightier than they (Gen 26:16). Best of all, God appeared to him “the same night,” and promised that He would be with Him and bless him. My friend, let us learn to channel our resistance to evil, and lift our eyes from the physical to that which is moral and spiritual. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty” (Prov 16:32). Go on digging wells—the wells of Family Prayer, of love for the Bible, of holy exercises and habits! You will find spring water (Gen 26:19). That is God’s side of your life. You are called to dig wells, but God’s Holy Spirit will rise up in your soul, and in the souls of others, like “a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). Let us present to Him ourselves—our souls and bodies, to be the wells and channels, along and through which His eternal God-Head and Power, arising from the fathomless depths of His own nature, may reach this thirsty and parched world! Father, thank You for Your love that is Self-Giving and Eternally Faithful. Lead us through the shadows to become well-diggers for Christ, that His love and goodness will outflow to others for everlasting life. In the blessed Name of Jesus. Amen.

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Eccl 4:9-10

What is a friend? There are many types of friends in a general sense. Some are known as Facebook friends, friends on social media, friends at work, neighborhood friends, childhood friends, close friends, dear friends, and the list continues. Some friends may be invited, involved, share interests, while others are excluded and dismissed. In the scripture passage we find something greater than mere friends, but a deeper connection in fellowship. Fellows have things in common. They are connected companions because “two are better than one” and strive together for things in common. Fellows are present to involve and invest their strength and resources for the aid of others to recover, be restored, and redeem others when fallen in need. They “lift up his fellow…to help him up.” Fellows have compassion and treat others with brotherly love. The fellow with the most need may be the neighbor right next door. Jesus illustrated the compassion and care provided to a man fallen among thieves, stripped, and left for dead (Lk 10:30-36). He called him neighbor. The one who saw him, lifted him, and helped him was the fellow who loved God with all his being (Lk 10:27) and had compassion for the man. Christ instructed His disciples that they would be known by the love they have for one another (Jn 13:35). He called them friends, told them that “greater love has no one…than to lay down one’s life for his friend” (Jn 15:13) and went directly to Calvary’s cross to lay down His life for the sin of man. What a fellow! What a love! My friend, when the “love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor 5:14) into fellowship with another, to have compassion for one another and “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself” (Lk 10”27) it is in these things that “two are better than one.” Father, thank You for Your fellowship and the fellowship of believers. Lead and guide us in the Spirit truth and love, that we might know the unity of the faith that is in Christ Jesus our Lord and share His love in a fallen world. In the blessed Name of Jesus. Amen.