… joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:15b NIV

When I think of marinating something, it’s usually for grilling and summer barbecues. So how does this relate to joy? Various herbs and spices need time to enhance the meat’s flavor, just as I feel that joy needs time to be appreciated.

Marinated steak for a quick “15-Minute Meal” recipe would taste very different than marinating the same steak for 2 hours. Just like a new believer’s joy would be a very different joy than my 50-plus years-of-faith joy. It’s all perspective. True joy, deep joy, unshakeable joy, overflowing joy, bubbling over joy, is learned over time. My joy is not a giddy, childish, silly feeling of goofy-ness. It’s a deep-running, constant stream of steadfast gladness in Jesus, that is rarely affected by any turbulence on the surface of life’s river. From Psalm 23, my cup runneth over, and will spill into eternity!

Dianna Hitchler
Bullhead City, AZ

Dear Jesus, You are the Source of all my joy, keep me steady! Amen.

Reflect: Discuss how your joy has enhanced as you have “seasoned” in life’s marinade.

Read: Ecclesiastes 8:14-17 and Psalm 23