“Is it any fun? Is Our relationship fun for you? I watch you; I notice you. You walk around with no clue as to how I invest My heart in you and grieve when you are burdened by your life. Do you know that My Son laughed and cried and prayed and taught with great zeal? He found fullness in the life that He had been given. I want you to do the same. I want you to have the heart of a zealot in whatever you do. When you laugh, rejoice with Me. When you are being taught a deep lesson, one that is destroying your flesh, remember that it is My great love for you behind that lesson; so embrace it passionately. When you love, do it with abandon as He did.

"Everything is being done for your good, so take joy even in the hard times. My Son surely did not enjoy the cross, but He did look forward to the joy His work would bring to others. Act like that. Take joy in My work being done in you. Take joy in each circumstance that comes to you, knowing that more than you could possibly know is being done by My power. I am your Father. I love you. Know that I am with you through this life. I have planned it; I have ordained it. One day you will rejoice with all of Us Who have gone through it with you.”

Eph. 3:19 AMP

[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

I Thess. 5:16-18 AMP

16) Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always);

17) Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];

18) Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].

Jas. 1:2-4 AMP

2) Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.

3) Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.

4) But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.

Have you ever watched a good worker? I once had the privilege of observing an apprentice in a woodworking shop. It so happened that the apprentice was also the son of the craftsman. It was wonderful to watch the young man tackle every task he was given with zeal. He did more than accomplish a job; he honed his skills at every opportunity.

Whenever his father was showing him a new skill, he was engrossed with every movement, every tool, and every word that the father used to describe the trade that he was imparting to his son. When the son was left on his own, I would notice the father - who was doing his own work - glance in the direction of his son to see how he was doing. If the son was not doing something exactly as he was shown, the father gently guided the boy until he got it right, encouraging him all the way. At the end of the task, the father and son took a great deal of time communicating what had been learned. It was beautiful.

The day that I was there, the son had to leave early. I watched as he cleaned up and walked out the doorway, thanking his father for what he had shared that day. The father stopped our conversation and followed his son with his eyes until he could see him no longer. Only then did he come back to me. When he did resume our conversation, his first words were: “He’s a good boy. I am really blessed.”

I think that our Father in heaven thinks about us like that. I don’t believe He cares about how well we do at any given task. I believe that He simply wants to be with us as we enthusiastically hone our skills. I also believe that He lovingly follows us with His eyes, like a pleased Father, as we go about our day.

Thank You, Father, for Your time with me,

Jim Corbett