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I’d not long retired and was just going through the motions of day-to-day life

My Bible: reasons to believe in the power of the Bible

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‘I’d not long retired and was just going through the motions of day-to-day life. I was looking for a new place and purpose. So, I went to a retreat centre in Wales for a few days. 

‘Retrospectively, I can see that my life was lacking joy, not happiness, but joy. There’s a big difference between the peace and contentment that you get with joy, and happiness. And joy was what was missing. 

‘On the first morning, there was a time of prayer and praise. We sang Psalm 118, and it was a lightbulb moment when we sang, “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”. 

‘It struck me that this was the day the God had made, and I was to be glad about how he had enabled me to know his love, mercy and faithfulness. It wasn’t a joy that I had to put on, but knowing this has helped me to have joy. 

‘Now, this is what I sense when I wake up. There’s a big difference in the days when I forget to think this. They don’t go as smoothly. There’s a lack of peace and contentment. 

‘You can be joyful on bad days too. I know that God is with me whatever happens. He’s faithful. He’s with me in the good things and the bad things.’

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