Thrilled!

What does it take to thrill you? A scary movie, an exciting football game, a great song? How about some good news?

Would a gift of a million dollars thrill you?

Are you a hard person to thrill? Why? Have you had too many unfulfilled promises left in your hope chest? Does your heart simply refuse to be thrilled, or even encouraged?

Remember the old song “The Thrill Is Gone”? It was written by Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins, and made famous by Mr. B.B.King. Here are two verses of the song. Do they describe you? Has the thrill left you?

“The thrill is gone
The thrill is gone away
The thrill is gone baby
The thrill is gone away
You know you done me wrong baby
And you’ll be sorry someday”

“The thrill is gone
It’s gone away from me
The thrill is gone baby
The thrill is gone away from me
Although, I’ll still live on
But so lonely I’ll be”

Have you lost the capacity to be thrilled? Has the “thrill” portion of your heart been fried too many times? Has it died?

Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life…” Not only can he raise us up from the grave, he can resurrect our old and cold, dead heart! It can pump hope again! It can be thrilled again!

You may ask, “what does it take for The Thriller to change this hopeless excuse for a life?” Just a little bit, actually.

Just a little bit? Yep.

That should be good news for someone who’s running low on hope.

All it takes is a little bit of faith. Just a smidgen; about the size of a mustard seed. And he’ll even supply that little seed of faith if you ask him.

By the way, Jesus does much, much more than stimulate the senses and exhilarate the soul. He regenerates, reactivates, and rejuvenates the very depth of your being! A new creation; a brand new you, from the inside out. Old worn out desires, dreams, and disappointments disappear as the new life of hope and faith rises from Golgotha; the place where man was reconciled to God by the cross of Christ. By faith in the cross.

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18 NLT)

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NLT)

The thrill of living can be restored. The hope of a bright, eternal future can be resurrected. The long night of sorrow and hopelessness fades as the sun of righteousness begins to shine into your heart – thrilling and filling you with glorious, inexpressible joy!

You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. (Psalm 92:1-4 NLT)

Thrilled!