Do you know the joy you feel when you look forward to something? Something you are so excited for? The joy that begins as a simmer? Warming until it bursts up and over and out, causing you to smile wide in bubbly excitement? I am meditating on that joy today.
Now, alternatively, do you know that thing you are not looking forward to? The apprehension you feel, dragging your feet all the way to the very deplorable event? That downward pull of your heart as you feel anxious about everything involved? Yep, I’m still meditating on the joy of the Lord, especially in these events.
I am meditating on this joy because I know full and well that my current, past and future circumstances don’t define me or the feelings I may have. But it is His absolute satisfaction living in me that makes me shine from the inside out. And I am allowing these thoughts to fill me to completion. No matter what has happened today, will happen tomorrow, or how roller coaster my emotions roll, I can rest assured that God will not change. He is always constant.
It is especially crucial if you’re overwhelmed by your circumstances, anxious about something coming up, or feeling downhearted in this very moment, to pull your eyes from the wind and waves that surround you and place your focus on the rock of Jesus.
When I apply what I know about the character of God–His joy, peace, goodness–to my current situation, my conditions don’t change. My attitude and mindset do. Am I instantly happy? No, not necessarily. But a sense of peace comes over my anxious thoughts. Then I am able to grasp the good God has for me. God doesn’t ask me to become like a bag of instant cocoa and just become happy-go-lucky, but He does ask me to trust Him.
When you ask God for His joy, He will graciously give you more than enough. It is His delight to give you this gift.
Here is some scripture to help guide your heart to one of peace and happiness. May the spirit of the Lord fill your heart to the fullest!
A cheerful heart is good medicine…
Proverbs 17:22a
Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4
Consider it pure JOY, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…
James 1:2
You will go out in JOY and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12
