Joy is Powerful!

In our lives as Christians(believers in God(Father, Son and Holy Spirit) who serve Him) we can get stagnant, bored at times and lifeless in our daily walk.  What can we do to find that joy that now might be alluding us?  What is joy?  Lets take a look at joy!

Joy is defined as a noun as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.  That's a pretty wonderful feeling.  For some of us it might be easy to see it in our childhoods, or in the life of our own child.  They have joy all the time.  Children bounce back quickly from many things that as adults we might tend to dwell on.  Think back when was the last time you felt joy?  

Let's look at some verses for joy in the bible!

Hebrews 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Romans 14:17

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

 

Psalm 30:5

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

 

John 16:22

So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

 

Philemon 1:7

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

 

Isaiah 12:6

Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.

 

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Nehemiah 8:10

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

 

We see in the verses that joy is often accompanied by peace, encouragement, and in song.  The joy of the Lord is your strength stands out to me the most of these verses.  How do you feel when you are joyful?  You feel strong, confident, at peace, etc.  Joy is a powerful thing it can change a person with a downcast heart into a glowing, smiling, confident person that is contagious to others.  It brings life where ever it goes.  Joy is like a light in a dark place!

When we lack joy often we feel tired, discouraged, distracted and lost.  It's in that place we need God most.  Since He is our provider of joy how can we get it?  Lets find a few ways!

If joy is lacking in my life there are a few things I tend to do to get myself back on track.  Here we go...

1. Sing and listen to praise and worship music. (You can't help but be uplifted as positive, joyful, Godly music pours into your soul.  You have probably heard you are what you eat, well it applies to our media consumption as well.)

2.  Read Psalms in the Bible.  (These chapters and verses are once again praising God and they lift our spirit by reading positive, encouraging and of course the Word of God.)

3.  Let worry go and focus on the things you are thankful for.  (Starting the day thanking God for the many blessings you have like running water, electricity, heat, air conditioning, food, eyes that can see, that you can breathe is a great place to start every day!)

4.  Pray!  (Realize that life is not hopeless!  God is in control and He is listening to you!)

So if you are going through one of those tough seasons in life find your way back to the Word of God, pray, praise, worship, and thank Him!  He is still there no matter what season you are in!

 

 

 

 

 

Seek God In Your Decisions

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

So here we are getting closer to Thanksgiving and God has put on my heart to ask are we seeking Him in our decisions?  Do we pray about things or do we just react based on our own emotions, reasoning, thoughts or plans?  We are just His creation...shouldn't we be seeking what He wants us to do in a given situation?


Psalm 25:9
He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

 Proverbs 2:6-9
For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity and every good course.

Psalm 25:12-
Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.

  John 16:13
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

Philippians 2:13
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure

James 1:5
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Jeremiah 29:11 -
'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Proverbs 16:9-
The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.


So based on the Bible verses above He is looking to lead us but we must also be humble, trust God, acknowledge Him, seek wisdom, let Him guide us, direct us and He will put us on the path He has for us.  It is so easy to reason something in your head and not seek God.  Often we don't think we need His help unless we get into a real jam.  Then we humble ourselves and cry out to Him with all we have.  Wouldn't it be less painful and more wise to seek Him from the beginning?  James 1:5 says above that God will give wisdom if we ask for it.

Now let's seek God in our decisions, trials and all that we are going through.  We don't want to learn the hard way so let's do it God's way.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

What did quitting ever accomplish?

Often we want something..maybe something to happen and we pray.  Months go by and then years but we don't get the desired results from our prayer.  We pray for salvation of friends and family members, children who have turned away from God, a better job, a new house, a wife, a husband, a restored marriage.

We get discouraged and say I prayed but it didn't work.  God didn't answer my prayer!  We doubt God and before we know it we are really in a mess and need prayer more than ever.  We try to fix it on our own.  Then we turn our backs on God totally and angrily because we don't get our way in our timing.  We want our answer now!  How dare God answer anyone's prayers but ours!

God is not a genie!  He is not Burger King who says "Have it your way." 

Do we even understand what prayer is?

According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary it's this 

Definition of PRAYER

1

a (1) : an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought prayer

for the success of the voyage> (2) : a set order of words used in praying

b : an earnest request or wish

2

: the act or practice of praying to God or a god prayer

>

3

: a religious service consisting chiefly of prayers —often used in plural

4

: something prayed for

5

: a slight chance prayer

> 

 

When I see the word wish I cringe because it reminds me of wishing wells, genies and just fiction.

 

Here are some Bible verses on prayer to help you and keep you from quitting. 

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

 

James 5:13-16 (NIV)
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

 

 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

 

Matthew 6:5-6 (NIV)
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:9-15 (NIV)
“This, then, is how you should pray:
” ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

 

Now these are just a few verses but lets take a look at them.  First we notice that God wants us to humble ourselves and seek Him and turn from our wicked ways(sin).  So we can't go to God all puffed up with our request like we are doing Him some huge favor by praying.  He knows our motivations when we pray. 

 

 Second we notice that we need to have faith and confess our sins.   Too often we pray but as a last resort.  That tells God right away where our faith is.  We have tried everything...so we might as well try God.  We must believe He is able to do that which we are praying for.  He don't do anything without our faith.  It also takes repentance.  That means we need to ask God to forgive us of our sins.

Third we need to be asking for things that are God's will.  Praying for a million dollars to spend on yourself doesn't seem to add up to His will now does it?  We need to pray for things such as salvation of others.  Pray for other people's problems, dreams and desires.  Pray is not just about getting what we want it's about praying for what God wants.  If you believe He wants you to use your talents for Him a certain way pray for it.  If you have a financial need(not a HD tv) such as rent after losing a job He can and will provide.  Not always in the way we want or how we expected but He does provide for His children.

Fourth we need to pray in private.  We don't need to spout off this super fancy prayer in front of everyone to get our prayers answered.  He hears us just as much in private as He does in public.  There are lots of prayer needs that require privacy of others as well.  We don't need to make prayer into a gossip session.  Example:Oh God, please help so and so for they are adulters who just can't find their way and my brother is a liar so please fix him, etc.

Fifth we need to prayer the prayer of Matthew 6:9-15.  It lays everything out there.  It covers everything that is at the core of our relationship with God.  It puts the emphasis on His will and our needs.

I would also like to add a few things.  Pray scripture!  Proclaim it over your life!  It is God's word.  Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Proverbs 30:5 

Isaiah 55:10-11

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Last of all don't forget this 

Galatians 6:9

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

 

The key is don't give up.  God works in His own timing!  It requires patience.  Here is a great example 

Genesis 21 - The Birth of Isaac

A. The birth of Isaac.

1. (1) God fulfills His promise to Abraham and Sarah.

And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.

a. The Lord visited Sarah as He had said: It took a long time (25 years) for this promise to come to pass, but God was faithful to His promise. God’s promises never fail.

b. As He had spoken: The promise of a son was not fulfilled because Abraham was perfect in his obedience, but because God was faithful to His Word.

i. Some promises of God are conditional and depend on something we must do. Other promises of God are unconditional, and God will fulfill them not because of what we do, but because of who He is.