JOY
Okay I just want to start by saying that JOY is probably my favorite thing to talk about. And how crazy is it that a little over two years ago I didn’t even know what true joy really felt like. Joy is so many things but a big thing that I have learned is that it all starts with us. We have to consciously make the decision to live in joy and fight to keep our Joy. The enemy loves to take what isn’t his, don’t let him take your joy.
So my journey to joy started when I was young. I grew up hearing the word joy at church and I knew it had Biblical meaning. I mostly heard it at Christmas time and I knew that joy came from the Lord. However, I didn’t really think about it much further than that. I don’t remember what prompted me to ask the Lord what joy was but I vividly remember driving in my car one summer night and asking Jesus what the difference between joy and happiness was.
I felt kinda silly for asking Him that question. I was 19 at the time and remember thinking, “I should know what joy was by now right?” I asked God if joy was when you were really really happy or maybe it was the feeling of laughing so hard that you fall to the floor? I think I asked a few people and they told me the generic stuff but I still felt like something was missing. What really was joy? God, what does joy feel like?
Flash forward a year later. I found myself in a small group at church that I was really only going to to check a box if I’m being completely honest. Little did I know that God was working in the background to make sure His daughter knew everything there is to know about joy and what it felt truly felt like.
Long story short at the end of the small group we were required to attend an event called Freedom Weekend. That weekend was life changing for me to say the least. I accepted the Holy Spirit into my life for the first time and was completely consumed with God’s love, so much so that I couldn’t help but laugh so hard that I started crying tears of joy. I stayed in that moment with just me and the Holy Spirit for I don’t even know how long but it was by far the most peaceful joy filled moment in my life thus far. Jesus answered my prayer and showed me what it was to feel perfect peace and the all consuming joy of the Lord.
Emotions are “a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.” Joy is so much more than an emotion. Joy isn’t situational because it is a gift that comes from Christ Jesus himself. Because joy is a gift and we are children of God, He chooses to bless us with joy. You can be walking through some of the hardest times and ask God to fill you with joy and He will. We have a good, good Father and he wants to bless us in amazing ways. We sometimes just need to ask Him. Believe and you shall receive. (Mathew 21:22 NIV)
My challenge to you is whatever you are struggling with in life right now, give it to God and simply ask Him to fill you with His joy. When I walk through hard times for me it’s the joy of the Lord that keeps me going. His promise to me to always be faithful and never hold back His joy for me is what I often hold onto the tightest. I encourage you this week to rest in his peacefulness and fully surrender to all the gifts He has to offer you.
With love,
Rach