Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts

Let The Joy Flow


NEHEMIAH 8:10b GWN 10 Don't be sad because the joy you have in the LORD is your strength."

As children of God we have joy in our spirit. But we must choose to let it flow out into our minds, bodies, and circumstances.

Joy is part of the provision God has given us so we can walk in strength and victory. Not allowing joy to flow out of our innermost being allows a weakness that can provide an opening for the devil.

JOHN 17:13 GWN 13 "But now, Father, I'm coming back to you. I say these things while I'm still in the world so that they will have the same joy that I have.

Joy is part of the "fruit" produced by the Holy Spirit through our human spirits.

GALATIANS 5:22 GWN 22 But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

But we must choose to let the joy out. We must open our mouth and release words of joy, thanking and praising God. We must choose to let the joy flow!
But don't expect this to always be easy. It's when things seem the worst that you need to act on this the most.
JOHN 15:11 NLT 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

Not only did Jesus tell us we should be filled with His joy, but it should overflow -- like a river of life flowing from our innermost being (John 7:38).

One way to keep our focus on the Lord is to rejoice in Him. As children of God, we have joy and peace in our spirits. But our minds may be blocking the flow by keeping our focus on circumstances and our reasoning.

Sometimes it's good for us to just let loose and force ourselves to really rejoice and praise God. Just go ahead and make a fool of yourself praising God! God won't mind.

2 SAMUEL 6:14-16,21 NLT 14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. 15 So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams' horns. 16 But as the Ark of the LORD entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she was filled with contempt for him. 21 David retorted to Michal, "I was dancing before the LORD, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the LORD, so I celebrate before the LORD.
If it was not wrong for King David, it's not wrong for us! It's okay to shout for joy and to jump for joy! Some people may not appreciate it, but the Lord does, and it's good for us.

PHILIPPIANS 4:4 NKJ 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

To rejoice means to re-joy or to have joy again. In the Lord, we can experience joy again and again and again!

Circumstances in your life may not be perfect, but you can always rejoice in the Lord, because He is always perfect. God is perfect in goodness and greatness and love! There is no fault in Him!
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The Joy Of The Lord Is Your Strength

NEHEMIAH 8:10 NLT
10 . . . Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!"

I do not claim it is the only meaning, but one thing the Lord showed me from this verse is that our level of joy is like a thermometer revealing our spiritual strength. If our joy is low -- our spiritual strength is low. That is because the Lord is our strength, and in His presence there is fullness of joy.

PSALM 16:11 NKJ
11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

So, if our joy is low, it means we have not been spending time in God's presence, receiving His strength and help. It means we have got our focus off God and onto something else.

(Although God is always with us, as we worship Him and praise Him and thank Him, God manifests His presence.)

Being gloomy is not a sign of being spiritual. God did not intend for His people to be downcast. Let the world be sad, we have something to rejoice about! Jesus! Heaven!

If you look at your circumstances you may not feel like rejoicing. But if you look at Jesus as He truly is -- you will not be able to keep from rejoicing in Him. Jesus is wonderful!

PHILIPPIANS 4:4 NLT
4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again -- rejoice!
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An Ugly Tree

ISAIAH 61:3 NKJ
3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

Jesus came to give us beauty instead of ashes. To transform the ashes of our life into something beautiful -- for His glory.

As I was walking one day, I came upon a tree. It was short, twisted, and poorly shaped. Obviously, it had faced many storms and had suffered greatly. To be honest, the tree itself, was ugly.

But that day something transformed that ugly tree into something gloriously beautiful, and very pleasant to look at. It was covered with little pink flowers. In fact, the tree was bursting with life coming from inside its gnarled branches.

As I looked at the tree, enjoying the beautiful sight, it reminded me of us as believers -- who may not be very desirable on our own -- but with Jesus' life and love flowing through us -- we become glorious creatures.

So no matter how twisted and ugly you may have become because of the storms of life, if you allow Jesus to live and manifest through you, everyone will see beauty instead of ashes and ugliness.

JEREMIAH 17:7-8 NLT
7 "But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
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