Gold is Nothing Special

 Gold is nothing special. The good book tells us we’ve been refined in the fire as gold. My daughter and I were having a conversation the other day about this very topic. She was doing a Joyce Meyer bible study with her women’s group. She was intrigued with the notion that gold is really just plain metal. It only displays its luster when light shines upon it. The thought of this idea, really puts our good deeds in their proper place.  We are not much without our Light of the World – Jesus Christ.
   Taking it a step further this morning, I asked the Lord to show me some ways that he shines on my golden spots (still being refined.)  Don’t we all want to be “lusterlious?” This morning I heard Him say softly, “it is in My joy.”  The strange joy of the Lord in the middle of chaos and heartbreak is a game changer for onlookers. You can’t fake joy, if you do, then all you look like is an uncaring buffoon.
  The kind of joy that gives you strength to smile and find beauty in the smallest details is God’s type of joy. Joy is river.  I can remember camping as a child and trying to build a little dam to make a swimming hole near a streamside. It was impossible to harness the fast moving water.  Rocks and sticks would tumble away from the places I put them from the power of the flood. 
   You see, liquid joy has the same effect as a powerful river.  It cannot be contained. It gets in every nook and cranny. It washes away debris. It cuts a clear path and breaks down resistance. It has a vast supply. No wonder the Lord says, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”
   The best part of the whole joy thing is – it’s not our own joy. Do you have joy like that on your own?  I sure don’t have enough. Today, I’m asking for more joy from the Lord. I want to be ridiculous in my happiness with joy that speaks to the broken.  May it be unbridled, filter through all that I am, wash away the dull prune faced spiritual pride that we think make us look good,
   It is in God’s joy that the gold of his new work in me shines today. Who is satisfied with boring metal anyway?  So, take a deep breath and breathe Him in.  Let your lips turn upward and may any self made dams break down.  It’s a great day to be alive! Let His joy bubble over you, because although Gold is nothing special, God sure is!