4.16.2026 - Jody Duncan
April 16, 2026
This week's devotions are written by Jody Duncan.
The Power of God
1 Chronicles 29:11
As you enter your time with God today, take a moment to quiet your mind. Breathe this prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus, come. Fill me with your Spirit. Open my heart that you might share your words of life with me today.”
We read today from 1 Chronicles 29:11. Read the passage now or at the end of this devotion. What does this passage teach us about the power and glory of God?
This verse is part of a prayer by King David at the building of the temple. It is a prayer of celebration, and a prayer of praise.
Reading these lines, I am struck by its exultant quality. His words are exuberant praise for God’s power and glory. They express unbounded joy at being called to serve that glorious and powerful God.
I am almost jealous of David when I read his prayer, for when was the last time I felt or expressed such profound joy?
Near the end of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, after Scrooge has been shown the errors of his past and present, after he has been shown a grim future, after he realizes that it is not too late to turn his life around, he is filled with a similarly unbounded joy. “I don’t know what to do!” exclaims the transformed Scrooge. “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy! I am as giddy as a drunken man!”
In the story, Scrooge’s joy is delivered by the revelation of spirits. In our lives, joy is the gift we receive when we embrace God in all his power and glory. It isn’t the giddy happiness experienced by Scrooge; rather, it is the profound joy we experience when we are in the presence of our God. It is there for us, even as we cope with sorrows. It coexists with our trials and tribulations. Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and we are instructed to partake of it always. We are to trust God and rejoice.
I recently finished reading C.S. Lewis’ memoir Surprised by Joy. (I know – I reference C.S. Lewis a lot in these devotions.) In his memoir, Lewis defines joy as “an unsatisfied desire, which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” It is, in other words, our deep longing for God. Lewis experienced this type of joy only fleetingly as a young man, and then spent many frustrating years seeking it, without success. The more aggressively he sought joy, the more elusive it proved to be.
It was only with his conversion to Christianity that he understood that spiritual joy isn’t something we can run after. We can’t seek it as we might seek fun or a promotion or a spouse. It is not a goal to be realized. It is, rather, a longing to be one with our Creator – a longing and wholeness that can only be found through Jesus Christ.
Today, let us offer prayers of praise, exultation and joy for God’s gift of our Redeemer.