ESOCS Devotional 8 August 2025 – The Choice of Joy
MEMORY VERSE: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:18
TEXT: HABAKKUK 3:14–19
You thrust through with his own arrows
The head of his villages.
They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me;
Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret.
15 You walked through the sea with Your horses,
Through the heap of great waters.
16 When I heard, my body trembled;
My lips quivered at the voice;
Rottenness entered my bones;
And I trembled in myself,
That I might rest in the day of trouble.
When he comes up to the people,
He will invade them with his troops.
17 Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.
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We live in a world that confronts us with all manner of challenges on daily basis. We are faced with diverse frustrations and devastating situations of which some are life threatening and breath taking. But your decision in the face of such prevalent circumstances matters a lot.
Oh yes! The decision you make while faced with diverse troubles in life determines what your outcome will be. Hear this; if you must come out strong from all sorrow compelling and provoking circumstances, then, you must make the choice of being joyful. It takes joy to overcome sorrow and pain. So, if your circumstances want you to be sorrowful, you should decide to do the opposite and be joyful.
Out text reveals the condition of Habakkuk and the deplorable state in which he found himself. But his resolve is mind blowing. The choice to be joyful suddenly became the key that opened the seeming difficult door.
We must understand that one of the most important characteristics of a Christian is the joy of the Lord. The joy of a Christian is one of the greatest assets of our faith and one of Satan’s worst nightmares. It is a threat to the kingdom of darkness; it throws the devil off–balance.
Any attempt to steal your joy is an attack against your strength. Kindly realize that your joy is the custodian of your strength. Good strength flows from joy. To be joyful is to be full of strength: “… for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). Nothing supplies strength like joy. Interestingly, joy is not a gift, it is a choice; be resolved to be joyful, no matter what comes your way. Realize that the Lord alone is enough reason to rejoice. Don’t place your joy on things; otherwise, when those things are not doing well, your joy comes under attack.
Make up your mind to make this one life an exciting life. Don’t endure life; enjoy it.
CHALLENGES
- Never allow the pressure of the world to attack your joy.
- Resolve to always be joyful, no matter what comes your way.
- Knowledge of God is a major fuel for the supply of joy.
PRAYER POINT
- Lord, thank you for your word; grants me the grace to live joyfully irrespective of what I see in life, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Zephaniah 1:1-13; Romans 1:1-32
ESOCS Devotional 8 August 2025
