Some years ago I was working with young boys at a Christian Science youth camp. One day one of the highly enthusiastic boys exuberantly exclaimed, “Are you feeling it? Are you feeling the Spirit of the Lord!” It was a spirited affirmation that he was feeling the childlike joy that comes from feeling God’s love. Every time we ran into each other for the next two weeks, we would exchange that greeting with each other.
It was easy to feel the joy which comes from feeling God’s love at that summer camp. But a health, relationship, or employment issue— or the pressures and demands of life— can make it difficult to feel that child-like joy. How can we go from feeling burdened to feeling the joy of God’s love?
In the beginning of the book of Revelation the author wrote, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.”(Rev 1:10) He’s feeling joyful and inspired and connected to God’s goodness. Throughout the chapter, he continues to give the picture that God’s kingdom—Love’s presence and power—is here with us right now. The result? Near the end of Revelation he writes, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”(Rev 21:4)
What a wonderful promise to us that, right here and now, no matter what the difficulty, God’s love is here to remove whatever might be getting us down. Today is the Lord’s day— Love’s moment to fill our lives with good. Sometimes this realization comes easily, quickly turning sadness or depression to joy. At other times it takes work to feel the presence and power of Love. But as we persist, we will feel Love’s goodness filling our heart and life. And then we can’t help but feel the Spirit of the Lord!
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