Wow it’s been a long time since my last post! I guess college keeps you really busy.
I’ve also been waiting to write something because nothing had really jumped out at me and said, “YES! This is what I want to dig deep and put my thoughts and ideas into”. Over the last few weeks I’ve had different topics come to mind, but none of them made it to the final process, until this one.
I really love it when a theme keeps popping up over and over again throughout a period of time (that’s God for you!). If you read (or sang along to) the title, this specific reoccurring theme is joy.
Joy: the inner attitude regardless of outward circumstance. Yeah, that doesn’t sound like it comes easily.
Let’s be real for a minute: life is hard sometimes. It can also be lonely, and scary, and disappointing. It’s in these times that we can find it easy to complain or doubt. We go straight for the negativity. But thankfully, God gives us joy so we can see the positivity.
The other day I got my exam score back and when I saw it, my first thought was “An 89? Are you serious? Ugh, I was one point away from an A. I could have done better.” Then something in me automatically said, why are you complaining? I quickly took that to heart and prayed to God, thanking Him for being with me during that test and giving me peace through out it. I also thanked Him for the ability to learn and retain information. I believe that was the Holy Spirit reminding me, in a little whisper, to be joyful.
We can find joy in His Word too. I really like how John Piper puts it in one of his talks called Fighting For Joy: “Let the promises pour out of your mouth into your own soul”. God’s promises bring our souls great joy.
The past few days I’ve been following SheReadsTruth’s Holy Week posts. Todays (http://shereadstruth.com/2016/03/24/holy-week-in-real-time-maundy-thursday/) had mentioned something that caught my eye. The night of Jesus’ betrayal, He was scared and distraught, yet He did something absolutely amazing: in the middle of all of the emotions, Jesus sang to God! That’s the kind of faith I pray to have, to praise God in not only the good times, but in the difficult trials as well.
While there can be a lot to be miserable about, there’s also so much to find joy in! God has blessed us with many gifts.
I’ve been praying that I will be able to find God’s joy all around me and in everything, especially with the semester getting a little crazy as it’s winding down (36 more days!!). It’s one of those things that I want to learn more about and put into practice.
I feel that I could go on and on (I did a lot of Googling of definitions and verses haha), but I’m going to conclude with this: fight for joy. Fight the negativity and find joy in God and all His works. I’ll be fighting right there with you.
In the darkness I’ll dance
In the shadows I’ll sing
The joy of the Lord is my strength
Rend Collective
With Love From 918,
Allison
With Love From 918 