✨Joy ✨
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Proverbs 17:22 NIV
Joy is mentioned in the Bible somewhere between 150-358 times (depending on the translation- thanks Google). That makes it is one of the most prominent topics in the Bible. Wow! Clearly, joy a topic God cares about a lot about!
Recently, I’ve caught myself wondering if maybe God just doesn’t think I deserve joy in my life. Instead, the stuff I’m struggling with is what I deserve. More specifically maybe it’s my punishment for all the times I’ve screwed up. If God cares so much about joy, then what gives?
God’s desire from the beginning was (and is) for humans to experience joy and peace. Think about the Garden of Eden. There Adam & Eve lived in perfection. That is what God wanted for us as humans! An easy, joy filled and completely perfect existence. Human sin was what changed that plan. The enemy tricked Eve into thinking God’s plan for them was not perfect. That the perfect life full of joy was not enough. Truth be told, the enemy does that to me everyday. He tries to come between me and God. He plays on my doubts, in weakness and my insecurities knowing that those things will make me question God. Questioning God leads me to search for Joy in other places rather than finding it in what God has for me.
Google says, “According to the Bible, "biblical joy" is a deep, enduring contentment that stems from one's relationship with God and remains even in difficult circumstances, while "worldly joy" is a fleeting happiness often dependent on external factors like possessions or situations, which can fade quickly when circumstances change; essentially, biblical joy is rooted in God's presence, while worldly joy is based on external things.”
Joy is a choice. I don’t just mean finding a good thing in the midst of bad things. I mean that Joy is a posture of your heart. It is not something meant to waiver with hard circumstances. Joy is a fruit of the spirit. A fruit that grows when we have an intimate relationship with God. The closer we get to God, the greater our joy will be!
Lord, thank you for the revelation you gave me today about joy! No matter what lies the enemy tries to get me to believe, you don’t want a life of suffering for me. You want me to have a joy filled perfect life… a life of close relationship with you!
What is God revealing to you about joy today? I’d love to hear!
Peep the picture above for a super easy, delicious and WARM crockpot soup. This crock pot potato soup is a go to for me when life is busy. It’s so good! And that left overs are even better. Dump it all in the crock pot and forget about it for hours! Serve with some good crusty bread or a sandwich for an easy meal!
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