Joy in the Chase – Devotion 310 – SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

I love to watch Leo chase flies. He is so determined and very focused. He doesn’t stop moving and is always on the lookout. He will run around the firepit over and over and over again. I get dizzy just watching him. I often wonder why in the world he would do this. His averages of actually catching a fly are very low. He does occasionally get one and seems as shocked as anyone else. He doesn’t chase flies for the actual results – there is joy just in the chase. He seems to find unending fun from simply chasing. To some of us, that likely sounds ridiculous. Why would we do something we knew would not actually end up not yielding any result? What if we just found joy in doing it anyway? It would seem frustrating to me. But as I watch Leo, the joy radiating from his entire body is contagious.

Our lives might look different if we found joy in the simple things we do each day. That whole sentence probably caused some eyes to roll. Who finds joy in the things we do each day? Yet, Jesus has given us life and a life more abundant. Abundance, for me, means joy- not stuff. So if we are given a joyful life, why do we often look as if it is anything but joyful? What are we missing?

After Jesus’ resurrection, he did simple things. He walked down a road with people who didn’t know him – and then had a meal with them after teaching them a few good things. He had breakfast on the beach with his friends after they had a long, unsuccessful night of fishing. He cooked, they ate. He spent time with others, showing them love, and eating with them. There were meals! And these meals were joyful. It wasn’t what they ate that mattered. It was who they ate with that changed things. This wasn’t their first or last meal. It was one of the most important, though. They were having a meal with Jesus. There was joy shared in the simple things. Joy can be found in the ordinary.

If we seek it, we may find joy is right before us. If we are willing to enjoy the journey rather than the destination, we may find life really is abundant. Joy is waiting to be discovered in the middle of the ordinary.

Focus Scripture:

John 21:12-13

¹²Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.