Family & Faith

Proverbs 17:22 “A joy-filled heart is curative balm, but a broken spirit hurts all the way to the bone. A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones” (The Voice & AMP)

We will kick off today’s devotional with our final thought, and question from yesterday. Married couples, if you do not have to go home, will you go home? The truth is if you cannot 

answer this question and say yes joyfully, you need to fix the missing fun factor in your home. You need to fix the fun factor in your family. You need to be deliberate about having a budget for fun. People typically have a budget for different things. Please, in all your budgeting, have a budget for fun. Someone close to me told me that they had been saving for years to take their children to Disneyland. They did not want to go to Disneyland when the children were under five years old. They figured it would be a waste of time and money.

They saved for at least three years so they can have fun and that is beautiful. Do you budget for fun? You should budget for fun. The fun budget could be for face painting or playing video games as a family. Whatever it is, have a budget for fun consistently as a family. I am not saying you should wait three years to have fun. I am saying that the ‘big’ fun project was a three-year project for that family. You should have fun consistently. If your children do not have to come home, will they come home? It is a question every parent has to wrestle with. If your answer is not a joyful yes, then you need to fix the fun factor in your home, and in your family.

John 16:24 “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (NKJV). Isn’t God good? If you do not know God, you are just wasting your time and suffering for nothing. I pray that today you will know God, and you will come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. God says ask and you will receive so that your joy will be full, and you can enjoy your life to the fullest. The reason God is saying you should ask is for your own joy to be full. In your finances, what do you want? What do you want for your children? What do you want in your health? What will make you happy, and joyful? Ask. 

And that was what the widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7 did. She had a situation that had drained her joy, so she ran to God and asked for help. She said, they are about to take my children, I need a financial breakthrough. And God showed her what to do. God did not rain money from heaven. God did not give her a mysterious bank alert. God showed her what to do, and she did it. And boom, the breakthrough came. Our faith is a fun faith. Our faith is a joyful faith. Our faith is a pleasurable faith. 

Prayer (song): Anytime I call, You answer. Any door I knock, You open. You’re an incredible God, incredible God, incredible God. Amen!