Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Allison.

Today's scripture offers us a wiser way of being human as we step into the day.

It's Monday, and today's passage holds a surprising truth about joy.

Joy isn't flimsy.

It isn't denial.

It's not the same thing as being in a good mood.

Scripturally, joy is rooted, the kind that can coexist with sorrow and still hold you steady.

Today's reading is from Psalm 16, 5 through 11.

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup. You make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord who counsels me. Even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body also will rest secure, because you will not

abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life. You will fill me

with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Let's hear two lines again.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. You will fill me with joy in your presence.

Emotionally, we often treat joy like a reward. If my day is going well, then I feel joyful.

But scripture offers a different sequence. If I'm anchored in God's presence, then joy can rise up,

even in imperfect circumstances. And we need to slow down

there, because this is where many of us get discouraged. We think if I were more spiritually mature, I'd

feel joyful all the time, or if I just had more gratitude, more faith, more discipline, I wouldn't

feel so heavy. But Psalm 16 isn't shaming your heaviness. It's

showing you where joy actually comes from. Notice the imagery, the metaphors in this Psalm,

portion, cup, boundary lines, secure, not shaken, rest. This isn't the language of hype. It's not the language of toxic positivity.

It's the language of stability of being held or contained. And psychologically, this matters because

...