Each day is a day the Lord has given and made, and therefore we have access to Him and His strength that day. There are two main keys needed to have real joy and keep it. Engage in a hobby. Paul was a great example of joy in the Lord in the midst of adversity. If you want to keep your joy you need to have your perspective changed about how you do that. Each day we have the choice to feed our fears, or to feed our joy. Galations 6:2 CSB. When we partner with God and shift our focuses to trust and believe what He says, joy will become the outcome. with others. Thank you! Do we come to him regularly or irregularly, and do we prioritize his word over other influences and other activities? Our various habits of grace, then, are the practices we develop (both individually and corporately) for daily and weekly access to Gods ongoing, soul-sustaining means of grace for the satisfying of our souls in Christ. Nehemiah 8:10 says, The joy of the Lord is your strength.. It is a conscious death. Through his word, he extends to us the particular joy of being led, of receiving the initiative he takes toward us. Prayer glorifies God when we approach him as the God he says he is: as a treasure, not a killjoy; as kind, not cruel; as attentive, not distracted; as near, not distant; as caring, not apathetic; and, mark this, as our magnanimous Lord, not our domestic servant. Were on a mission to change that. 20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. Here are 11 verses that can help you serve the Lord with gladness. To see it with the eyes of the heart and not just think about it with the mind. Jesus will judge us, and we all deserve hell. When you see it like this then it keeps on changing our service of God. This is our hope. But in the midst of the trials and difficulties of life how do you keep your joy? But we did not deserve to be counted his friends. Psalm 19:8. How can I experience joy in my Christian life? But theres still something I need to draw your attention to. The joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). The reality and experience of the church extends to us the joy of belonging and togetherness. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, produced by God's work in us, and it is part of God's will for us. Our happiness may crash against the waves, or strength may tarry, but our joy will endure for it is rooted in Jesus. Infuse humor and . We serve a strong and powerful God, yet your problems matter to Him. Tell one There will be more ways we warp the gospel so that Jesus becomes a God who lays heavy loads onto our shoulders. I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. When Jesus was born, the angels announced "good tidings of great joy" ( Luke 2:10 ). His own Son is the climactic expression of his Word (John 1:1; Hebrews 1:12), and he has filled for us from Genesis to Revelation a Book of his external, objective words about himself, our race, our world, and our redemption. His greatness is not that he can command the service of millions, it is that he serves millions. The world would have you believe that if you arent happy with your marriage you should ditch your wife and find a younger more attractive one. Several years ago I was sitting in a routine church staff meeting when one of the staff members told us of a young man who had made a recent commitment to Christ at a small group. It is all about his service of you. As I see it there are two perspectivestwo ways we can look at how to keep our joy. Its so hard to stand when your arms are full. The woman glowered in confusion and looked away. Take a brief moment to mentally turn from the project in front of you and purposefully focus on the Lord. Consequently, we need rest. Worldly possessions, accomplishments, even the people in our lives, are blessings that make us happy and fuel joyfulness. Joy is our strength. The rest of the day was mine to enjoy. Sometimes suffering is part of that ( 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 4:12-14 ). Michelle D. Craig was sustained as the first counselor in the Young Women general presidency March 31, 2018. You will find an everlasting joy if you will trust in Christ today. Lehi taught this truth when he was living in a tent in the wildernessall of his riches and his comfortable lifestyle left behind in Jerusalem. made us people, not machines. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. This website provides quality theological material for the whole church, for free. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.. He went through this hell of being cut off from God his Father, the source of life and love. Heres the key to keeping your joyGods way is so different than the worlds way. and Dear Future Husband: A Love Letter Journey While Waiting for God's Best. "The joy of the Lord is your strength" ( Nehemiah 8:10 ). This is just one way we have turned our backs on God. Jesus conquered death and the grave and He lives. That was the ransom. He also loves us enough to pay a ransom to buy us out of this terrible situation. We were his subjects and he died for us. But how do we come to the waters day in and day out in the Christian life? Jesus says, Know thisyou will weep and mourn, while the world is rejoicing that Im gone. He told themIm going away for a short time. Joy provides strength. And when Jesus says that he will see the disciples again after his resurrection this gave them great hope as it does us, because this means that Jesus lives again never to die again. My life is about John, not Jesus. Jesus comes into our lives to serve us. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. Motivate you to study what the Bible says about the end times. It is He who made us, and we are His;a we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. That theres real joy to be had and that no one can take it away. It was downright scary. 4:4) Being joyful is a powerful key for Christian living. The world says you keep your joy by getting bigger and better stuff. Worldly wisdom says that to have real joy you need a bigger home than the one youre living in now. full of anger and having ongoing, hidden moral sin. Experiencing joy should be a part of every Christian's life. to search your heart, and always respond to His conviction. The camaraderie of Christian Hedonism is not a gift God means for us to wait on till the age to come. In other words, your worry will gain you nothing. Relying on His strength comes from delighting ourselves in Him in connection. Connecting with nature is connecting with the song of the earth that sings its praises to the Almighty, and great joy is to be chosen and experienced there. Instead, His Holy Spirit prompts, guides, and gently leads you to a place of joy; He will never manipulate or control you. Our identity is as those who are served by Jesus. Jesus had already told the disciples that he was going away and that for a little while they would not see himHe would be crucified. To see the worldwide church grow, we need to raise godly, wise and well-equipped leaders. Can Loved Ones in Heaven Look Down on You? Didn't get a code? One friend likened it to her faith being crushed under the weight of service and expectation in church. There are two pairs of specially made shoes for my crippled son, and they weigh twenty pounds a pair. She paused, and the next words seemed very hard for her to say: Thank you., They chatted on, and as they did, she smiled. Instead, His Holy Spirit prompts, guides, and . In Jesus name, amen. We may not feel that we have wronged God, but he has given us everything and our lives so seldom show that. Its easy to compare ourselves with others. | Quezon City, Alleluia It doesnt feel like it, but to reject God is to reject life. And weve noted that we can experience joy by not being selfish but by serving others and treating others as better than ourselves. Maybe it is hope at a time when despair seems the only real option. What does it mean that joy comes in the morning? The glory of God will one day stand forth in a new creation and wipe away all evil and all pain and all sorrow and all fear and all guilt. Is it possible to feel joyful in the Lord while feeling overwhelmed or underwhelmed? But I was completely unprepared for something we experience for about an hour or so that afternoon. deep that a look to the Cross cant renew our perspective. Joy is what the the kingdom is. (Romans 14:17) Joy is how we serve the Lord. Im told we live very close to some great fly-fishing on the AuSable River. He came to serve you. A walk in nature often seems to bring down to earth how small we are, and how big His creation really is. Not only do we need to know how to have joy we need to know how to keep it. 3 Powerful Reasons the Joy of the Lord Is Your Strength Jesus alone is the source of true joy. How to Be Strong in the Lord | Desiring God by Voddie T. Baucham Jr. He says that he will throw them outside his kingdom, into the darkness (Matthew 8v12). Stress broke Elijah's spirit. Serve the LORD with gladness; come into His presence with joyful songs. Joy is our strength. 3. But he also says that they will experience real joyjoy that no person and no circumstance can take away. And he knew that they would experience deep sorrow over this. Just as You made a way for the Israel slaves in Egypt into the Promised Land, just as You broke the chains off Peter in prison, and just as You brought down the Walls of Jericho we know that the victory comes from You and You alone. It gets even harder to grasp when we see why he had to die for us. Look again at what Jesus told the disciples in John 16:22. [6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Dont be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!. Come, everyone who thirsts, Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. The world says that to have joy youve got to lose weight and get a makeover. The world will mourn without Christ. We get to be with God as he works. (Psalms 100:2) Joy is like a medicine. Either Christianity is about Jesus, a God who serves his people, or it isnt Christianity at all. How to Find Joy: 2 Tools for Finding Joy In The Lord - Aryn the Libraryan of counseling and pastoring, I have often seen a corollary in Christians At any time you can unsubscribe and remove your consent. God is not the cosmic killjoy many of us may have feared in our youth. We might well agree. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. Thats the truth we see expressed in Ecclesiastes 2:10,11. Yet even in the waiting, even in the questioning, and even in the long and winding road we can find our joy in You, oh Lord. 4 But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. 12 Ways to Increase Your Joy Emerge Counseling Ministries His gifts, rightly received, point us to him as the deepest and most enduring source of joy our joy. The joy of the Lord is the gladness of heart that comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. The world says that real joy is in bigger and better, and bigger and better than what your neighbor has is even more likely to bring real joy. Keep short Find strength today in tapping into His joy over you. . Joy can even make a person forget his pain and limitations. Being joyful is a Biblical key to living the Christian life. Our joy is not just a feeling. In the same way, we can seek to recall times where God saw us through difficult times, or when He made a way when it looked impossible. I felt relieved. At least thats what I assumed, because she wasnt bashful about letting everyone know how she was feeling. Abiding in God can look different from person to person, and even day to day. Joy is not found in more stuff, more fame, more money, or any other thing. Joy can come from highlighting the good in our . But those feelings never come from God. Dont we face things in this life daily that threaten to steal our joy? Paul helps us see that being like-mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind (Phil. And I say to you look at what Jesus told the disciples earlier and Gods Word tells us now. Weve seen how we can only have true joy when we look for it in the Lord, when we stand for Christ with boldnessbeing unmoved by this world and its turmoil. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. Experience The Joy Of The Lord Through God's Word 3. HOLDING FAST IN PRAYER (LUKE 18:1-8) - Facebook If I treated my parents with as little love, concern, time or gratitude that I show to my God, you would despise me as a nasty son. But her expression had changed, and she smiled up at the young coed standing above her. How do I have joy right now while Im still here living life?. We know we need our joy dont we? 22 Bible Verses about Joy - Uplifting Scripture Quotes - Bible Study Tools In nature, we can be reminded that His eye is on the sparrow, and He indeed watches us. He who did not spare his only Son, but gave him up for us all, will freely give us all things with him (Romans 8:32) All that God owns will be the inheritance of his children for their everlasting enjoyment. But I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. In fact, it will be, for most of us, an uncomfortably corporate journey. In verse 17 we see the disciples inquiring of each other, What is this that He says to us, A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me; and, because I go to the Father? This puzzled them but Jesus doesnt leave them puzzled too long. For others of us we are not trying to impress Jesus. But we know too, that as long as we remain on this earth that well experience the trials of lifewe will still face hardships and disappointments, and keeping our joy wont be easy. Therefore Rejoice in hope! (Romans 12:12). David asks a priest if there were any swords in reserve he could borrow, and in verse 9 the priest replies, The priest replied, 'The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. It is easy to get distract and to start looking for joy in all the wrong places. We are not alone in the Christian life. The Joy Of The Lord: How To Experience It Every Day - The Blazing Center 4. She had to stand in the aisle because every seat was taken: Seated across the aisle next to her was a small plain-looking lady, someone you wouldnt ordinarily notice.