Joy-No Stealing My Joy!
Message on Joy: This message on Joy has been playing around in my head and spirit for a few months now. Maybe this song got into your head like it did mine, and I just had to sing along like the people in this short video clip of the end of the song by Zach Williams, “Ain’t Nothing Going To Steal My Joy!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOEviTLJOqo Back in December, the Lord spoke this in my journal.
Journal, December 02, 2017: I have taught you how to not come unglued when things don't go as planned and when things you anticipate are thwarted. Live in peace, give others grace and you will live long on the earth. Anger, frustration, irritation are all negative emotions which will eat you alive if they are allowed to control you. For them to control you, you have to allow it. Choose My better way. Forgive others without their asking, carry an attitude toward life that defies anyone or anything from being able to steal your joy and peace.
These are some of the things which steal our joy:
1. Anger: Ecclesiastes 7:9 (NLT) Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool. I don’t want to be labeled a fool and that is what happens when I let anger control me. Anger, frustration & irritation allowed to stay in my mind and heart reflect a choice I am making whether I realize it or not. It is a choice to yield to satan and his way. It is a choice to allow something other than Holy Spirit to control me and that is sin. I don’t want the label of “Fool!” on my forehead. God’s way is given us in Proverbs 16:24.
Kind Words: Proverbs 16:24 (NLT) Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. When someone speaks to you with kind or gentle words, especially when you were expecting harsh words, it is like honey. Our words are powerful for good or for evil. Angry, harsh words can wound for a life-time. Kind, comforting words can heal for a life-time. We desperately need to heed the words of Ephesians 4:31-32.
2. Harsh Words: Ephesians 4:31-32 (NLT) Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Forgiveness: What we do with forgiveness is so crucial to our growth, success and living a positive, faith-filled life. When we choose to hold onto resentment rather than immediately giving the person and situation to the Lord in forgiveness, satan receives permission to make us his football to kick around. I really dislike being satan’s football. How about you?
Joy Is Our Strength.
Journal, January 26, 2018 My son, lean on Me always for I am your strength. When you rejoice and praise, My joy becomes the fruit of this action and it literally becomes your strength. Joy=Strength. Rejoicing=Joy. Learn to laugh much and live a positive expectant life. The devil is negative, evil and depressing. I am full of faith, hope, expectation of future good, life and peace and health and prosperity and success. These are My qualities. Live a life of rejoicing, praise and expectation. It is My way of blessing. Model it, teach it and live in its truth.
Nehemiah 8:9-12 (NKJV) And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep." For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." 11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, "Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved." 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.
ü “Eat the fat, drink the sweet”: I chose the version of this that mentions “eat the fat, drink the sweet”! I am sure that is referring to bacon and chocolate. Just kidding, I try to eat healthy but in moderation, I sure like bacon and chocolate. In Russia, one of the delicacies some of the people like is to eat portions of bacon fat without any lean meet in it at all. I tasted it but that was a little much for me.
Now: Focus Johnny! The situation here is that the exiles of Israel have returned from Babylon and they had not even heard the Torah or the Prophets (The Bible of their day-most of our Old Testament) read in their lifetime. When they heard it and realized how displeasing they had been living before God, they spontaneously began to weep. But their leaders encouraged them to not focus on the past failures but to celebrate and rejoice in the restoration that God was doing before their very eyes. Don’t focus on how terrible things have been but rather rejoice for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
ü No Joy Switch: We can’t just turn on the “joy switch” and have joy. It is a fruit or result of something else. It is the result of choosing to rejoice which is a verb, it is to choose to be cheerful and calmly happy.
ü Joy Is A Fruit: When we learn to rejoice and praise the Lord at all times, the fruit of the Spirit of joy will be in our heart and it will be literally the strength we need to follow the Lord and overcome no matter the situation. It can even be exuberant like dancing, but it is reminding ourselves of all we have to be grateful for, to thank and praise God joyfully. Not, “I am just so joyful.” (In a monotone voice with no emotion) but acting as if we have a reason to dance and be joyful. We put on rejoicing and it is contagious to our heart and spirit and to those around us.
Philippians 4:4 (NKJV) Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Chairō- a primary verb; to be “cheer”ful, i.e. calmly happy--Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.
It seems strange that a man in prison would be telling a church to rejoice. But Paul's attitude teaches us an important lesson: Our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances. Paul was full of joy because he knew that no matter what happened to him, Jesus Christ was with him. Several times in this letter Paul urged the Philippians to be joyful, probably because they needed to hear this. It's easy to get discouraged about unpleasant circumstances or to take unimportant events too seriously. --Life Application Study Bible.
· The Hope-Joy Connection: Romans 15:13 (NLT) I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
What is it that fills us with completely with joy and peace? It is God, but the God of hope, the source of hope. If we again define hope as the confident expectation of future good, it is the reality of our Father God in our lives who gives us His promises which we believe will happen and we can rejoice in joy and be at peace because we trust Him to do what He has said, even when it doesn’t seem that way. As we walk with Jesus, we gain experience of His faithful love and provision that encourages us that He will do what He has promised because He has done it so many times in the past. Is there are area of your life right now where you can apply this?
We are confident in hope, because of His unfailing love. Jeremiah 31:3 (NLT) Long ago the LORD said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. Can you say the Lord has drawn you to Himself with His unfailing love?
Romans 15:13b (NLT) Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Hope is what faith operates on. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
When we expect God to do future good, we are more open to Holy Spirit flowing over us and His power being evident in our lives. His power becomes our strength because the Joy of the Lord Is Your Strength! I have chosen to hope in what God has promised me about my family, my ministry, New Life, NLSOM, the Prayer Room. Therefore I choose to rejoice, even in trials and difficulties. What are you hoping for?
Let’s close with these promises from the Lord:
Psalm 16:11 (NLT) You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. As we walk in the promises of God and the power of Holy Spirit, He will show or reveal to us the way of life. The way of life grants us the joy that comes from experiencing His presence. In His presence is fullness of joy. Then He makes the promise that we will be granted the pleasures of living with Him forever! Would you commit yourself to meditate on this verse?
1 Peter 1:6, 8-9 (NLT) So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while... 8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
ü Today, say "yes" to joy: Lenny was desperate to lose weight, so his doctor told him, "Eat normally for two days, then skip a day. Repeat this pattern for six weeks and you'll lose 10 pounds. Amazingly, after two weeks he dropped 20! "How'd you do it?" the doctor asked. "Honestly, Doc, I thought I'd die!" he replied. "Were you that hungry?" the doctor asked. "No!" Lenny exclaimed, "But that third day of skipping and jumping all day nearly wrecked me!" Life doesn't have to be so hard! We make it that way by saying no to joy because we don't think we deserve it. Feeling deprived and "virtuous" doesn't make points with God, nor does acting like a martyr hoping somebody will rescue you.
Video: Zach Williams, “Ain’t Nothing Going To Steal My Joy!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cRh8NqmXoE