You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11
Dear HLPC family,
I read Psalm 16 this morning and verse 11 jumped out at me. It made me aware of how little I am finding joy in the Lord. I can resonate with John Piper’s phrase that we need to “fight for our joy.” When we live in this era of a pandemic, racial brokenness, unrest in our cities, economic distress, wildfires out west, and now hurricanes–joy seems hard to come by.
Yet, the world has always endured hardship. Had we lived in ancient times, we would have faced even more challenges to joy. That’s not to make us feel guilty for our present struggles, but to realize the fight for joy has always been with God’s people. In fact, the strains of life make finding joy in the Lord more precious.
Let’s pray for one another that we will all know what joy in the Lord is. Let’s pray that the joy of the gospel becomes real for us as individuals, families, and as a church. May HLPC be a congregation known for her joy! Only God, by His grace, can work that in us.
Yesterday I wrote that we as a church particularized in February 2010. That was wrong. We particularized as a church in February 2007. We moved into our present facility in 2010. God has been good to us in many ways.
Lastly, due to the heavy rains forecasted to be on the way we will not meet in person here at the church tonight. Please stay home and watch via Facebook Live at 7PM as we continue the “Consider Jesus” study!
Your Pastor,
Paul
