So the last post on love was just awesome. I have read it over and over again and received a lot of great feedback. I hope that joy is just as great!
I have been anticipating sitting down writing this blog tonight because I had, what I like to call, a mini-mental meltdown today! I started to feel sooo guilty about writing to you all about joy and I was searching for mine for a minute today! But we live and we learn and we share. I'm not perfect by any sense of the word, but I am constantly praying for the Lord to show me myself so that I can do better! So know that either I'm in your shoes on certain issues or have been at one point or another. God is good through it all because what I have done is regained my joy through the post despite what tricks the devil tried today! Now that I have had my counseling session, let's move on to joy!
John 5:11 says, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
This verse alone tells us that God wants us to have joy in our lives. Not just any old joy, his joy! A lot of times we confuse joy with happiness. At one point in my life I would have argued that they were the same thing, but now that my relationship with the Lord has grown, I realize the difference. Happiness is something that the world gives us. We get happy if we get a new pair of shoes. We get happy when our kids bring home a report card with straight A's. Happy is when our husbands say, you don't have to cook, I brought pizza! And if y'all are like me, you aren't always happy. Especially when you have a parent teacher conference with your child's teacher about bad behavior or when you have slaved around the house cooking and cleaning and no one seems to respect it or care! But the good news is through it all, we can still maintain our joy!
Joy comes from the Lord, not the world. It cannot be taken away if we are operating in the holy spirit and trusting God through all things. "For his anger is but for a moment,and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. " Here in Psalms 30:5, it tells us that it may be some hard stuff for a moment, but we have favor with the Lord and when it is all over, there is JOY unspeakable! Because whatever we go through is all for our good and the building up of our character. We have to believe that and receive it in our hearts so that the Lord can start transforming us! Joy is wearing a smile when our heart is breaking inside so that we may bless someone else. Joy is, as someone put it, dancing in the middle of the storm! Ladies, whatever you are going through remember, it can always be worse! We have to find our joy, because that is what keeps us going. To me it's the assurance that God is right there blessing you through the rough times.
You may be wondering, how do I get joy? Joy comes from the word of God and our personal relationships with him. Not just reading it and talking about it in bible study, but by applying it to our lives. Going out and living it EVERYDAY and trusting God wholehearted!
I will leave you with this verse from Psalm 5:11, "But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits."
May the Lord continue to bless and keep each of you!
Tarrah
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