James 1:2-3 TPT “My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things.”
The Joy of the Lord – what an amazing gift! And that’s just what it is: a gift. In January of this year I had my daughter, Stevie Joy. We gave her the middle name Joy because we felt like joy would completely describe her personality and her life. Stevie means “crowned one” and we spoke over her that she would live a life crowned with joy! I have been on a rollercoaster ride with joy in my life, and I wanted to definitively proclaim that Stevie would not have to battle for joy like I did. She would live it!
In April of 2016, my dad died suddenly. My whole family was shaken, as he was definitely the rock and spiritual leader of the family. He was a mighty man of God that lived a life proclaiming the gospel always. While others in my family dealt with their pain by going to the Lord, I struggled with this. I ran from the Lord for a while, because getting quiet with God was painful. It just brought up the hurt I was going through, and feelings of abandonment and anger. Even though I knew the truth of His word, and that only by drawing close to Him would I be able to heal from this experience, I pushed Him away for a while. I chose to cope by other means of distractions that would keep me from addressing my pain. I entered into some patterns of sin that were distracting from the real pain I was feeling. But these actions also caused me to feel shame because I knew a better way! Therefore, drawing close to God became even harder because I felt dirty and unworthy of His love, grace, and the healing that He was offering me.
In 2018, my mom invited me to go on a Walk to Emmaus with her. I agreed, but hesitantly. I knew this would be a weekend where I would encounter God in the way I needed but wasn’t quite ready for. That weekend, there was a man on the leadership team that allowed me to talk with him as if I was talking with my dad. I was able to share with him some of the painful parts of everything I had been feeling and thinking since my dad had passed. I spent time weeping, and pouring out my emotions of anger, abandonment, hurt, and pain. Being able to verbalize those feelings allowed me to hand them over to God and begin to receive healing for them. I received love, grace, forgiveness, and healing that weekend from the Lord. God was and always is tender-hearted towards us, and I felt that that weekend. After recognizing my feelings, and repenting for my sin, I could receive healing. The Lord also spoke to me that weekend that it was time for Him to restore my joy. The day my dad died I remember saying the words “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel happy again.” But God reminded me that joy is a gift, and one that we can choose to receive and walk in, even if our circumstances are not joyful. So that weekend I chose to let God restore my joy that the enemy had stolen.
Now of course I still had hard days even after that weekend. But God was and is faithful to continue to restore my joy! Joy is a gift! And it’s a gift that we can choose to live in, even when going through something that is not joyful. Choosing joy is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit, and us allowing Him to have free reign in every aspect of our lives. When we have His eyes, ears, and heart, then we can view every circumstance through the lens of supernatural joy. My prayer for you would be that no matter what you’re going through, you could lean into the Lord and choose to partake in His gift of Joy!
We want to thank Joanna Capps for sharing this post.
Women's Ministry 