Seeing their Joy:

Quick introduction: I submitted this following devotional for my first writing challenge through Compel training which is a part of Proverbs 31 ministries. While this submission was not accepted, I am still happy with what I wrote and what I have learned from this experience. I am aware that rejection is a part of life, especially when you want to make it in a subjective field such as art or music. Learning how to grow, even amidst rejection is a wonderful skill. I will also say that I grew from this experience as a writer. I was only allowed 500 words in this submission. I know that I have a tendency to get long-winded with both my writing and speech. Being limited in the words meant that I had to pick the correct words and sentence phrasing to still get across the message that I wanted to say. I can’t wait to continue to submit my works for other writing challenges and soon that will help me be the exact writer that I want to be.

With that introduction done, here is my devotional that I wrote, Seeing their Joy. I hope you enjoy a piece of writing that I put a lot of work and love into.

I am a first year cross country coach, and I am absolutely loving it.  I love getting to watch my athletes compete in races.  I love getting to know each and every one of them better.  However, my absolute favorite thing is getting to hear from my athletes that they really love to run, and they can’t wait to run again.  One time at practice one of my athletes yelled at me, “I love running Miss Post, do you love running?” to which I replied, “Yes, I love running!”  It was such a joyful and refreshing experience I was able to witness.  It is hard to run, and they may not enjoy every single second of practice, but for a majority there is an enjoyment that comes from spending time together at practices.  

This was a good reminder for me that I should be looking for other’s joys in all experiences and in walks of life.  In Proverbs 10:28, “The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.”  The righteous are in reference to those who have been made right with the Lord.  They are the ones who have been born again in God’s love and are therefore corrected from their immoral behavior and sin.  Because these who are righteous have a great relationship with the Lord, they should be filled with joy.  Because they have been filled with joy, other’s joys should not be a threat or take away their own.  The prospect of the righteous is joy for everyone and for all who hope for good, not just for themselves.  

Paul was one of the best men of the Bible finding joy through others.  Paul had a long life and for most of his Christian walk, it was also very hard.  He was put in jail several times and would eventually be murdered in Rome.  However, Paul is also known for his letters he wrote to the different churches in the area.  These letters were always filled with encouragement and hope.  There were times that he would give advice or would offer a great deal of prayer, but there was always joy present.  Paul knew that every success and joyful experience that the churches in the different countries experienced, was another joyful experience for the Lord, and therefore a win for him as well.  

This verse and Paul, as a man of the Bible, serve as a good reminder that those who are righteous, or those who have been made right with the Lord, care about joy and think about joy on a regular basis.  This is even when it could be very easy to be filled with competition and jealousy.  When we are living in a “me” society, it can be very hard to root for others, but when we are filled with joy for others, we start to become more joyful ourselves.