Joy

Is there Joy in your Life? Where do you derive your Joy? Does it come from things, circumstances, people, or God? What is Joy? Is there a connection between joy and happiness?

Over the past months I have asked myself similar questions to the ones above. What I have been learning is that my Joy is completely in Christ. I have a loving family, great friends, and a good life. But my Joy, my fulfillment, my contentment comes from my relationship with Christ, then all of the other assets fall into place. According to the world, and to dictionary.com joy is an emotion of great satisfaction and happiness. Does this definition mean that when there are difficult times in my life that I can’t have joy? I don’t think so.

I have found that even in the low times of life, when there are stressors beyond what we can control, Joy is present. Why, because of my relationship with Christ. John 15 talks about abiding in Christ – when we are pruned, when we are disciplined, we are to remain in Him and allow Him to walk us through all aspects of our life.

The psalmist says in Psalm 30 -  I will exalt You, Lord, because You have lifted me up and have not allowed my enemies to triumph over me. Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. 
Lord, You brought me up from Sheol; You spared me from among those going down to the Pit. Sing to Yahweh, you His faithful ones, and praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor, a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning. When I was secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”  Lord, when You showed Your favor, You made me stand like a strong mountain; when You hid Your face, I was terrified. Lord, I called to You; I sought favor from my Lord: “What gain is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your truth? Lord, listen and be gracious to me; Lord, be my helper.” You turned my lament into dancing;
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, so that I can sing to You and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise You forever.
There is no doubt that we are going to go through trials, frustrations, self-pity, self indulgence, or difficult times. There will be weeping, sadness, and or questions, but through it all our Joy will greet us when we trust and praise God. Where is your Joy?

God's Word Complete with Examples

What does it look like to make an adjustment in your life? I mean to change from what you want or do, to what God is calling you to? How do you know God's calling?

Over the past 13 years I have made some adjustments in my life. I've heard God calling me to change from what I was doing to what He wanted me to do. Sometimes it was my attitude and heart that needed to change. Other times it was my actual ministry. When the change required more than my attitude and heart I had people ask me why I was changing or how did I hear God telling me to change. I'm more convinced today than ever before that the answer to "why" is because God said to. And how I hear God, through His word, through my prayer time, through the church, and through circumstances.

Hebrews 3:4 Now every house is built by someone, but the One who built everything is God. Ephesians 2:10 For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. Hebrews 3:6  But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.  These verses remind me that God is in control and over everything. He has plans for my life - I am created in His image and I need to realize that He really does have a plan for my life. As I look at God's word I see over and over how God was faithful to all that went before me and how Christ was faithful to us and to His Father. With these things in mind how can I not listen or make adjustments to what I am doing?

As I was raising my children I would tell them about the right way to do something. I would use examples of things that I had learned or been apart of in order to make the point. Many times the kids would have to make attitude adjustments or action adjustments.We as Christians also have examples from which to learn - God's word is complete! When we need to make adjustments - changes to the way we are doing things - we need to ask God for direction, trust His word, and believe Him that He has a plan for our lives.