What Doesn’t Kill You...Gives You Joy?
“...And do not be grieved, for the Joy of the Lord is your strength.”1
You woke up this morning with the feeling of purpose and the will to have a great, productive day. You find yourself singing in the shower and whistling as you pour your coffee to-go and head out the door. As you drive down the street you get every red light, you’ve realized you forgot your cell phone at home, and now you don’t have time to turn back because you just noticed that you need to stop for gas and now you will barely make it to work on time! What started off as a joyful morning has just turned into a dreadful day.
Most of us will choose to wallow in this pitiful moment and allow it to completely ruin our day. But God has said, “Count it all Joy”! (James 1:2) What?! How?! If we take a few moments to spend time with the Lord during our day, He will fill us with His Joy allowing us to face those difficult moments with a smile. True joy, that is only found in the Lord, comes from the personal growth we achieve through those circumstances that make us feel defeated. By reaching out to God we are choosing to learn and grow from our trials, and the joy that God instills in us becomes our strength! What doesn’t kill us doesn’t just make us stronger, it gives us joy, and that strength is the Joy of the Lord!
God doesn’t promise that we won’t go through hardship, what He does promise is that he will be there waiting to be our strength. By looking to Him we will be radiant with Joy! (Ps. 34:5)
Prayer: Dear Joyful Father, today I claim victory over any trial that may come my way trying to steal my Joy. I pray for your strength to fill me and that my joy may be full so that all who see me will see your radiance shining through me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Nehemiah 8:10.
All articles on this website are written by
Richard (Dick) Innes unless otherwise stated.