“To suffer woes…to forgive wrongs…to defy Power, to love, and bear…to hope till hope creates from its own wreck the thing it contemplates—this alone is Life and Joy.”
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
When we lose JOY we lose strength
The Joy of the Lord is our strength! This is an important reminder to all of us that grow weary at times. When we can experience the authentic JOY that God alone can give, we can experience an increase in strength to press through life’s challenges. Joy is a birthright. It’s what makes life worth living. We should not just seek to protect ourselves from every pain of life, but we should open our hearts to God to receive a gift that he is so willing to give. Once you taste authentic joy you want more and more of it. The strength and motivation to overcome is the power of life itself, and joy becomes a wonderful expression of that power and strength.
What brings you JOY, may not be what you think brings you JOY
I ask the question often: “What would your life look like if it were filled with JOY?” The answers do not generally come quick but after pausing and reflecting, I hear people talk about the simple things of life like: being able to make a difference, a great family, etc. The interesting disconnect happens when you look at what they are working hard to acquire, it is not always what they decided would bring them much JOY. We think we need the things we do not have, but in most cases we just need more of what we already have. The sneakiest of all Joy Robbers is the one that I called “lack” where we are always convinced that it is not enough. This keeps us spiraling away from our real JOY filled life because we can not recognize the Joy that already exists in our life. The real Joy may not come in acquiring something new, but in gaining a feeling of peace and security with what you already have.
What we truly desire is abundantly available and not limited to this physical world; for God declares in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and plans to give you a hope and a future and plans never to harm you.” When you think about God’s plan of abundance it gives much reason for constant JOY!
August is Filled with Joy!
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Sandra Steen, Contributing Writer
Camille Turner-Mason
Editor-in-Chief
iRock Purpose Blogspot
Contact: camille@thepurposewithin.com
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