Journey4Jesus
Praying Gods Word in all areas of life… The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
JOY UNSPEAKABLE JOY…what on earth does that actually mean??
I was having one of those weeks, the type that no matter what you do things just felt grey and dark. If I turned on worship music I couldn’t seem to focus in… if I tried to read, my mind wandered. The glass was definitely looking half empty rather than half full.
It’s funny, these are the days that I need God the most, yet thanks to my own human weakness as well as not covering myself in Gods protection, these are the days I leave myself exposed to the taunts and lies of the enemy.
On this week he had me in his sites, and I wasn’t even aware that he was behind the onslaught. Every day it came at me, I just felt a little bit smaller and a little bit weaker until I just felt sad and defeated. It was here, that the Spirit of God got my attention… “daughter wake up, come back to the Father and be strengthened“…. these are the words my soul needed for my eyes and my mind to shift my focus from self, back to God.
I went to my Bible and with much anticipation of a clearer head, I opened it up in the book of Philippians, (Paul had a lot of insight into the the struggles of this Christian life… maybe his words could shed some light for me).
I have to be honest here, I almost started to laugh when I started to read in Phil 4:vs.4, “be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life“… this season was certainly not one to be joyous in, a party was literally the last thing on my mind. Then I went on to read “Let joy overflow… don’t be pulled in different directions…or worried about a thing,” seriously? this passage could no way be for me… or could it??
Suddenly, I was taken back a year earlier in my minds eye… just before we left Mexico where the Holy Spirit had been speaking to me so clearly. There, He had given me three words that I hadn’t really been able to fully understand in the midst of these storms of life.
The three words were: Joy – Excitement – Anticipation.
At the time, I was able to see where the words Excitement and Anticipation were coming from. The Lord had been teaching me that “He had greater plans for me that I couldn’t even imagine” Jeremiah 29:11… I was on board for that!
And then Anticipation… honestly we were pretty much at the bottom of our lives, the only place we could go was up. He encouraged me that He was at work in our lives.. “that His ways are not our ways” Isaiah 55:8, and “Christ is FOR us” Romans 8:31. These things I could wrap my brain around, but Joy… how do you find joy in the midst of the trials…this one was considerably more difficult for me and I simply had forgotten about it… until today.
Now here it was again. He had clearly spoken to me to “wake up and come to him”, I was led to the book of Philippians, and suddenly I’m confronted again with that word… Joy. This time I would not be so quick to disregard it, I really needed to understand.
I decided to look up the actual definition of Joy, and as I read through various dictionary variations, I came upon a definition that just spoke deep into my heart. “Joy is not happiness, Joy is an emotion that’s acquired by the anticipation, acquisition or expectation of something great or wonderful.”
How had I never seen that before? Look again at the three words the Holy Spirit gave me; Joy – Excitement – Anticipation. I was looking at it backwards, the truth of it was that Excitement; ( knowing that He had greater plans than me) plus the Anticipation; ( that it won’t all make sense to me because His ways are different than mine, coupled with the fact that He is absolutely For me) equals Joy.
Excitement + Anticipation = Joy. The reason I couldn’t understand it, was because it does not stand on its own. It is a culmination of the other two. I looked back at the passage I had been reading, could I be cheerful with joyous celebration even in this season of life? Could I let joy overflow even when I didn’t feel happy at the moment?
The answer is a Resounding YES. We belong to the Lord. He created us for just a time as this… and He is IN this with us. Joy is a CHOICE, we choose to be joyful because we have faith that He is in Control in ALL areas of our life.
Journal Entry: #24
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your Word Lord, it is Powerful and True, it was spoken through your servants to my very heart and soul. Your Word says to always be full of Joy in the Lord, to be cheerful with joyous celebration. What a beautiful image.. Yet this is not to say that we will always be happy as many difficulties will occur in our lives.
By definition, Joy is”an emotion that is acquired by the anticipation or expectation of something great or wonderful.” Thank you Lord God, that no matter my circumstances I can always have Joy IN you, because IN You we have much good to anticipate and expect.
Lord Jesus, I know that You are returning soon, so help me always live my life outward in a way that is Kind, Loving, Considerate and Compassionate to all those that come onto my path. I pray that in this way, they might see You in me, and I would have the opportunity to share your Love and Grace with them.
Lord God, Your word is very specific in the command that I am NOT to worry about anything. Forgive me Father, when I forget and allow my heart and mind to get twisted into worry, when I think that I can control my situation better than You Lord. Forgive my lack of faith and weakness.
Help me Lord, to constantly lay my fears and troubles at the foot of your cross, trusting that Your way is always much better than my ways. Help me to remember, that You are always ready and waiting for me to talk to you, to come to You with everything that is on my heart and mind.
Lord, You have been so faithful in your Love for me. You have guided me through difficult situations, given me wisdom to make better choices and Forgiven me of so much… Thank you, Jesus.
I pray Lord for your peace in my heart as I struggle with these difficulties life is throwing at me. Grant me the peace that surpasses my human understanding, but keeps me close to You.
Finally I pray that as the anxieties and worries of this world try to get into my head and grab my heart, that You will help me to fix my thoughts on You, on my praises for You… on the good You do… and on your promises for me. For when I focus on praise worthy and excellent things the enemy cannot attack me with the constant worry and fear.
Thank you Lord, for all that You teach me, help me to continue learning how to live better for You. Thank you that You are the God of ALL peace…Praise You!!
In Jesus name ❤️ Amen
My Final Thoughts & Encouragement:
Are some of these instructions you hear in the Bible troubling to you? Trust me dear Sister or Brother, stick with it and trust that in due time, God through His Spirit, will show you exactly what He means.
In the meantime, I implore you to not do what I did, and keep going through life on your own strength… I promise you this, it will fail and you will wear down. The enemy of our souls waits patiently for us to be worn out from working in our own efforts.
Lean in to the Lord, Abba Father wants you to hear him and trust him. He gave us His Spiritual armour to wear so that we can stand strong against the attacks of the enemy. Please trust me here… if you are leaning into the Father, if you are serving Him with your time, resources and energy, the enemy knows who you are and WILL try to thwart the plans the Father has for you.
We needn’t be afraid of the enemy, the Bible clearly tells us “that GREATER is He that is IN us than he that is in the World”. These are promises we can trust on, so go forward… serve… prepare… and when necessary… fight back. And friends, do it ALL with Joyous Celebration. You are exactly where Christ wants you at this time.
Blessings, Janet❤️. Journey4Jesus
Do you know Jesus ? He’s waiting for you… ( click the link to learn more)
{ If this benefited you in any way, I’d love to hear from you and I would be thrilled if you would share or invite more people to be encouraged. }
Journey4Jesus 
The meaning of the word “JOY”. has always escaped and eluded me. It seems inscrutable and hidden. It’s such a small word I never thought about actually looking it up. Thank you for doing that. Great lesson
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLike
Isn’t it interesting that it’s in the smallest word that there is such depth of meaning… it totally opened my eyes to a new way to see it ♥️
LikeLike