Fulness of Joy

You will show me the the path of life;
In Your presence is fulness of joy;
At your right hand are pleasures
    Forevermore. Psalm 16:11

In His presence is fulness of joy, and fulness of joy
is nowhere else. Just as the simple presence of the
mother makes the child's joy, so does the simple
fact of God's presence make our joy. The mother
may not make a single promise to the child or ex-
plain any of her plans or purposes, but she is, and
that is enough for the child. The child rejoices in
the mother herself, not in her promises. And to the
child there is behind all that changes and can change,
the one unchangeable joy of the mother's existence.
While the mother lives, the child will be cared for,
and the child instinctively, if not intelligently, re-
joices in knowing this.

And to the children of God as well there is behind all
that changes and can change, the once unchangeable
joy that God is. And while He is, His children will 
be cared for, and they ought to know it and rejoice in
it as instinctively and far more intelligently than the
child of human parents. What can God do, being what
He is? Neglect, indifference, forgetfulness, ignorance
are all impossible to Him. He knows everything. He
cares about everything. He can manage everything.
AND, He loves us! Hannah Whitall Smith

Reader, we saw some heartbreaking stories today of
children who have become Christians in hostile coun-
tries, but who will not not renounce their faith. They
have nothing. The parent they love is sometimes not
available to them, and school, for some is not  possible.
Yet, they cannot go back. The joy of the Lord, and His
protection His compassion sustains them.
They know they are loved.