Choose joy on purpose
Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice. ~ Deuteronomy 16:15
When was the last time joy felt intentional instead of accidental? What if obedience was not only about doing what is right, but about choosing joy in the middle of responsibility, pressure, and unfinished prayers? What if celebration was not optional, but part of walking closely with God?
Today’s scripture reading is filled with instruction about appointed times, justice, and worship. God showed His people that faith is lived out in routines, choices, and everyday faithfulness. As a God’s people in the world today, this chapter reminds us that joy, obedience, and integrity still matter deeply in a busy and distracted world.
Before giving practical instruction, God first reminded His people that obedience grows best when it is rooted in remembrance, thankfulness, and awareness of His hand at work.
1. God invites you to remember what He has done
God established feasts so His people would not forget where they came from or Who delivered them. Memory was meant to strengthen trust and gratitude not bring guilt or shame.
Intentionally recall moments when God carried you through something difficult. Write down one answered prayer or a time where His provision was clear. Let gratitude steady your heart when today feels uncertain.
2. God calls you to show up with what you have
The people were instructed to come before the Lord with offerings according to how the Lord had blessed them. God was not asking for perfection, but participation and action.
Offer God what is in your hands today. It may be time, prayer, kindness, or obedience in a small area. Do not wait until everything feels abundant. Faith grows when you give from what you have, not from what you hope to have later.
3. God values justice and integrity in everyday life
Deuteronomy 16 speaks strongly about fair judgment and honest leadership. God cares about how decisions are made, especially when no one is watching.
Choose honesty even when it costs you convenience, comfort or approval. Speak truth kindly, keep your word, and make choices that honor God in your workplace, family, and all relationships.
I catch my self often staying busy doing good things but forgoting to celebrate what God has already done. I faithfully do the responsibilities but most times miss the joy. When I intentionally slowed down to thank God and obey Him with a grateful heart, things always shift. Obedience no longer feels heavy, joy returns as a strength, not a feeling and my choices are rooted in love and trust not obligation.
Today I want to encourage you to choose joy as an act of faith, to remember God’s faithfulness, to offer Him what you have right now, and to walk with integrity in every area of life. Just as God instructed His people to celebrate before Him, He also invites you to live with a steady joy that honors Him and strengthens you for what lies ahead.
Today’s scripture reading: Deuteronomy 16
1 “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
2 Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the Lord chooses to put His name.
3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.
4 And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until morning.
5 “You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you;
6 but at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt.
7 And you shall roast and eat it in the place which the Lord your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents.
8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.
9 “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain.
10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you.
11 You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide.
12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
13 “You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress.
14 And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates.
15 Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.
16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.
17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
19 You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
20 You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
21 “You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God.
22 You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the Lord your God hates.
Journal:
- Where have you seen God’s faithfulness that you may have overlooked
- What is something you can offer God today without waiting for perfect conditions
- Is there an area where God is inviting you to choose integrity more intentionally
The Daily Dose 