Friday, May 25, 2012

May 25, 2012

Have you lost your joy?  I think there are times when life throws us a curve ball and zap, our joy is gone! How does this happen?  One day we are walking along and everything is going well and the next we can't get out of bed.  What stole our joy?

Difficult circumstances are always at the core when joy is lost.  We lose joy because we lose sight of Jesus Christ.  We can't see our circumstances change so instead of believing that Jesus is with us; we choose to let Satan rob us of our joy.  I hope you're saying right now; that's not me.  But I know too many wonderful Christian women whose joy was robbed because they looked at their circumstances and not at the glory of our Savior.

It's no wonder the Israelites spent 40 years in the desert.  And if you think that can't be you, watch out because it surely can.  We must realize that this life is full of temptation, hardship, and defeat.  Only through Jesus do we have victory.  We are an apathetic generation and often we are wishy washy in our belief system.  Jesus is good when we can see Him and feel Him.  What if for a time, Jesus decides to remain silent, what do you do then?

That's the question I want us all to contemplate.  If we don't feel like Jesus is near, will we still believe that He loves us and wants the best for our lives.  Will we believe that we will come out of our circumstances and that our lives will be better for them?

I have a doctor who is very dear to me.  He is a very kind, Christian man who last year went through a routine procedure, during the procedure, everything, I mean everything, went wrong.  He thought that He was going to die.  Unfortunately, he must face another, more dangerous surgery to fix a complication that came from the first.  As I looked at him and told him that I would be praying for him, I asked him if he learned anything from his experience.  He looked right at me and told me that he couldn't believe how at peace he was with death.  That dying didn't scare him in the least.  He told me that the worst part was saying good-bye to his wife.  Interesting isn't it?  In every situation, no matter how dire, we learn about ourselves and about our Savior.  He learned that even when facing death; He was ready to meet Jesus.

In every trial, we will learn something about ourselves we didn't know.  It could be strength, courage, faith, or it might be that we clung to Jesus like we never have before.  He became our front, back and middle.  Daily we went to Him, crying out and asking for some relief and if we were lucky, He gave it to us.  Life is going to happen but Jesus is in it.  We are His to do with what He wants.  And we must serve Him the way He wishes.  Only He knows our true weaknesses, what will rock our boats, what will scare us to death and what will be our breaking point, so that we can follow Him better.

I don't know what's going on in your life today.  Maybe you are on a calm stream or maybe, you are on the waves of wrath, either way, take heart, cling to Jesus and He will be with you.  Call out to the people closest to you and ask for prayer.  They are near and if they aren't, call on me.  I'm already praying for every woman that comes to this blog or that reads it.  I may not know who you are but I love you anyway.

That's whats happened to me through my many trials and loss.  I have learned to trust Jesus more, walk in faith, not sight, and to believe that He can move mountains as long as I walk with Him daily.  They may not be the mountains I want removed, but they are the ones He wants to remove.  And in the end, that's all that matters to me.  I want to follow Jesus and take  my manna as He provides it.  I love Him and am so grateful that He saved me.  I'm not perfect and either is anyone that walks this earth.  My boat gets rocked from time to time, but in the end, I always can say I love Him more!

May your journey be in days, not weeks or hours.  Learn to walk with Him only in today.  It's not a coincidence that AA or some of the other habit breaking associations talk to people about walking daily.  I believe in a God that truly knows what He's doing, don't you?


Luke 6:21-23 NKJV:

     Blessed are you who hunger now, 
     For you shall be filled.
     Blessed are you who weep now, 
     For you shall laugh.
     Blessed are you when men hate you,
     And when they exclude you,
     And revile you, and cast out 
     your name of evil,
     For the Son of Man's sake.


     Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
     For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
     For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

Phillippians 2:12-13 NKJV:

     Therefore, my beloved as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.


The takeaway from these passages are to rejoice in tribulation and let God do His will on your life for His good pleasure.  If you have lost your joy, please pray for God's will on your life and that He would provide your joy!

My prayer today:

At every corner you are near.  You wait for us Lord to acknowledge Your presence and Your authority.  We argue, cry, get angry, and finally, we come by still waters to have You walk and talk with us.  Please help us walk daily with You and to be true to You.  We are like the Israelites, sometimes doubting, sometimes selfish, and sometimes faithless.  Please provide the faith we need to be in Your army.  You are our God and we love You with all our hearts.  Hear our cries O, Lord and bend Your favor to us today.  We want to learn to trust You in every situation and when the boat is rocking, we ask You to calm our storm.  We are Yours to do Your will with.  We pray that we are faithful and open to Your great work! In Jesus name, AMEN

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