He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:3 (NASB1995)
Have you ever been so full of joy that you want to sing and maybe even dance? I remember the Good Friday Night forty-one years ago, when I gave my life to Jesus. I was overflowing with joy that evening. I chatted, prayed, and sang in the back of the car on the way back to Fife from Livingston with my new family in Christ and fellow passengers. And when I was dropped off on the long driveway leading up to my college residence, the waves of joy didn’t stop; I skipped and sang until I reached the students’ residence – I really was full of a new song.
Sometimes, it isn’t possible to skip around and sing, like the time several years later when I was in hospital bedridden after a brain tumour operation. I still remember feeling waves of joy washing over me as I read His Word and saw answers to my recent prayers – my heart celebrated regardless of my bodily constraints.
In both examples of being filled with joyful praise for God, there were witnesses. Naturally, those who shared the car with me in 1984 saw my joy, but so did Mrs. Y., the student residence bursar. When I walked in through the front door, she thought I was drunk and needed persuading that I was completely sober; thus, she was the first person I shared my testimony and the gospel with that night.
The second incident occurred in 2002 and was not an isolated incident of the joyous kind in the hospital. I remember being called to account several times for my joyfulness and peacefulness during my brain tumour treatment, by patients, visitors, and staff. I tell you this not from personal pride but out of excitement about how God can use simple folk like me to shine for His glory.
Dear reader, I do not know how my shining for Jesus affected folk in the long term, but I do know that many briefly saw Jesus through what He had done for me. Have people seen Him in you recently? We are given this great treasure of Salvation to share, rather than hoarding it secretly for ourselves, that others may see Jesus too (John 8:12, Matthew 5:14-16).
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Devotional Treasures
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