Leaping For Joy

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure." Luke 10:21

My car was in the long line of cars behind the stopped school bus. All of us who were in a hurry to get to work waited impatiently as we fixated on the red blinking lights of the bus. Out of my periphery I saw a small boy, who was probably five or six years old, running as fast as he could from his house down the long lane toward the waiting school bus. Instantly, my impatience melted and my eyes welled up with tears. Maybe it was the mother in me, or perhaps even more significantly, the Father in me as my heart just went out to him as I saw how hard he was running, how little he was, and the fact that he needed to catch that bus! I could tell he was getting tired as his pace slowed and yet, he still had a ways to go. I was tempted to get out of my van and begin cheering for that little guy, to encourage him to keep going and to reassure him of his progress. I refrained, but it was at that moment as if the Lord spoke to me, "That is my heart for you all the time."

In Luke 10, Jesus had sent out His disciples to minister in His name and upon their return, they were so excited of all that they had seen and experienced. Jesus gently turned their focus on what He deemed more important- salvation. However, full of joy He then thanked His Father for what He had revealed to them. The word 'joy' in the original language the scripture was written in, is the word 'agalliao'. 'Agalliao' means "to exalt, leap for joy, to show one's joy by leaping and skipping, denoting excessive or ecstatic joy and delight." Jesus was so excited that His Father had revealed Himself to the disciples, He actually skipped and jumped for joy! He loves to see His children 'get it', to grow in Him more and more, to seek Him and experience what God has for them.

Just like the little boy, we are running this race called life. Our Father is watching and He is cheering us on as we run toward Him. We may get really tired and our pace may slow. We may even fall down quite a bit and scrape our knees. But He keeps on cheering- crying with us as we experience hurts, correcting and forgiving us in our mistakes, rejoicing with us in our victories, loving us unfailingly. He is so gracious with us as we continue to 'grow up' to look more like Him. Be encouraged as you run the race He has marked out for you.

Lord, thank you for your gracious and loving heart towards me. Continue to teach me on this journey and keep me running towards you. Thank you that you rejoice over me and have a heart that is continuously rooting me on. I am yours- use me for your glory. Amen.

Jocelyn Hamsher