Joy...

So my dear friend Deidra asked me to join her for a women's event at the Chapel last night called "Death by Chocolate". Admittedly, I was hesitant to go, not sure if I'm ready for all that "joining in" just yet. What a dork I can be! The night consisted of chocolate (lovely), worship (lovelier) and a very funny guest speaker from the south named Jackie Kendall (loveliest). And the fact that I got to go with Didi was the icing on the cake! The subject of the night was "Joy". Yeah, my ears were perking up. Haven't felt much of that lately. But those of us who are followers of Christ know that joy & happiness are not the same thing. We know that happiness is completely dependent on our circumstances, like I'll be happy if I could just have __________ (you fill in the blank). Joy, on the other hand, comes from belief that God loves you always and that He freely gave His Son in our place. Its a supernatural expression that I can rest in the arms of my Creator and be filled with His peace & joy, despite my circumstances. Its knowing that all these things we worry about today will be gone tomorrow. Everything except my relationship with Him. That was a good word for me to hear. She spoke of things that rob of us of our joy. Things like fear, jealousy, worry, busyness and outright being dissatisfied with God. (None of us experience those emotions, do we????) Joy comes from spending time in the presence of Jesus who loves me enough to die for me. Why wouldn't that fill me to overflowing with joy?? Its a mystery, but sometimes I just don't feel joyful. And that's where I've messed up. Again, joy is not dependent on my circumstances.

Psalm 28:7 says: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." Amen to that! I need to continually be praising, worshiping, loving & connecting with my Savior. Pastor Jerry has been talking about these things as well, continually reiterating the absolute necessity to take solitude with the Lord & to be focused on His Kingdom above all else. I think that would even include my life circumstances. We think about His Word "seek first the Kingdom of God", and think that it means don't put worldly desires or ambitions ahead of Him. But, as in my case, sometimes we can even put our sorrows before Him. THAT will most assuredly steal my joy. That's not the kind of daughter (of the King) I want to be. And I'm sure I wouldn't be much fun to be around either! Needless to say, between Jerry's preachings these last couple of weeks & Jackie's last night, I can honestly say to God..."okay, I get it!!" To which He would likely reply, "Then go live it..." I intend to...