Everlasting Joy Sealed in Your Heart | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 27

This picture is from a hike with my son in Vedauwoo, Wyoming. My heart was nearly exploding with excitement, and my smile stretched across my face as we climbed an unusual expanse of boulders to the saddle that opened to this beautiful view. To anyone else, it’s just another mountain picture. For my son, it was a fun hike with mom up a familiar trail. To me, it is joy. Not fleeting happiness. It's an everlasting joy sealed in my heart.
   
Imagine the excitement, possibly electrifying, as Jesus entered Jerusalem. The cheering crowd. People jostling their way forward for a glimpse of Jesus. Tears of hope falling from some eyes. Possibly some so overwhelmed they fell to their knees. What a sight it must have been! I believe many people from the crowd ended the day with a feeling of indescribable joy. A feeling that doesn’t diminish, it’s everlasting.  
   
That very joy remains available to anyone hoping for even the slightest glimpse of Jesus. The joy of having Jesus enter our lives is like no other joy in life. It’s more than a hike. More than a mountain top view. More than a significant event. It's a joy so personal and everlasting, sealed in our hearts, that no circumstance or person can take away.

Matthew 21:1-11Entry into Jerusalem

21 When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave two disciples a task. 2 He said to them, “Go into the village over there. As soon as you enter, you will find a donkey tied up and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that their master needs them.” He sent them off right away. 4 Now this happened to fulfill what the prophet said, 5 Say to Daughter Zion, “Look, your king is coming to you, humble and riding on a donkey, and on a colt the donkey’s offspring.”[a] 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had ordered them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their clothes on them. Then he sat on them.

8 Now a large crowd spread their clothes on the road. Others cut palm branches off the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds in front of him and behind him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord![b]Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up. “Who is this?” they asked. 11 The crowds answered, “It’s the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”