Rocky Road Devotions: Happy New Year

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and provide me with a spirit of willing obedience. Psalm 51:12^(GW)

After King David’s unforgettable departure from living as the man after God’s own heart, he was miserable. Life was falling apart, and there was no sense to living, let alone any joy. His prayer in Psalm 51 was desperation. That is something easily seen in our day. People try to find some semblance of happiness, or at least a little relief from bad news. That they need it is something you see every New Year’s Eve in Times Square, with 100,000 partiers in fully-intoxicated party mode.

Twenty years ago Elizabeth and I rang-in the New Year somewhat differently; we had the flu! Our swizzle sticks were immersed in chicken soup. When “the ball” finally dropped at midnight, I awoke because of the noise on TV. I nudged Elizabeth, kissed her Happy New Year, she grunted, yeah…whatever, and we both went back to snoring in a Nyquil stupor. It wasn’t all gruesome though. Earlier that night Elizabeth had decided to bathe the dogs. (We were “grand-dog” sitting at Carrie & Shannon’s house).

When Elizabeth decides to bathe dogs, they have no choice. One by one they were herded into the hall bathroom. Being the sickest, I shouted encouragement from the living room while I watched the ball game. When Elizabeth got to the “puppy” Cole, (85lbs and Buffalo-sized paws), things got out of hand. Cole decided to exercise his I want outa here option. He tried to bite the water, soap, scrubby-thing and shower curtain. He understood that “nipping” Elizabeth was out of the question, so he just struggled to end the torture as best he could.

The sounds were amazing. I expected to hear, “No, Cole. Stop, Cole. Cole, cut that out.” What I heard was high-pitched laughter…no words, just Elizabeth’s reaction to Coles struggle. She was having a grand time with Cole giving Elizabeth a really good bath.

Elizabeth later explained to me that Cole had grabbed the soap bottle and flung it across the bathroom. As she reached to retrieve it, the pooch got himself half-out of the tub, but his back legs were swimming, leaving a wake like the Titanic. With water and suds flying everywhere, my bride was attempting to “re-tub” the front half of the dog, while the back end was objecting. It was an epic struggle!

A few moments after the clatter began Cole and Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom in tandem; she had the hound by the tail with one hand, and a buzzing hair dryer in the other. Cole was getting down the hallway as fast as his legs could scramble, considering he was dragging Elizabeth behind. I don’t know whether it was the hair dryer or Elizabeth’s laughter that scared him the most. Elizabeth rather enjoyed the ride!

It is an incredible thing, this joy that won’t be stopped; especially when it is connected to a Rotweiler/Bloodhound-mix puppy who won’t be stopped either. I like joy; I like the genuine kind that starts deep-down within, and bubbles up to the surface. It is irrepressible, unstoppable, and it is what Jesus died to bring to our souls – joy unspeakable and full of glory![1]

For You Today

If you’re experiencing an absence of joy in your life, that deep-down contentment with living, there is something to be said for a spiritual checkup. Joy is one of the characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit. Take time to read Galatians 5:22-25, and ask God to drench your life in His goodness.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library. To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these:

Joy Unspeakable and No More Tambourines

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