Did he get up each morning wondering if that would be the day? Hope deferred makes the heart sick. And longing fulfilled is like a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12). We all know what it feels like to wait for a promise to be fulfilled. Some are small, such as when our spouse says, “I promise to pick up the groceries on…

It’s an eternal well connected people know how to access. A joyful shout erupts when the football team wins. A child squeals with delight at the sight of a new puppy. Tears of joy mark a reunion of beloved friends. Yet there’s a deeper, more lasting joy available to us every day. Psalm 100 captures the essence of it: Shout for joy to…

The joyful ones let go of what was to embrace what could be. Some of the older men wept as they watched the foundation of the new building being laid. These guys had been around to see the splendor of Solomon’s temple, and they must have wondered if the new one would live up to memory. They could remember the good old…