Have you had your JOY JUICE today? Are you feeling joyful?
Never do I want to imply that being
joyful is a quick, easy process….that if we’ll just follow a simple
formula---we’ll always be happy!
Having the JOY of the Lord is NOT
the same thing as having a life free from problems. God never promised that! But He has promised
to be with us through the storms of life.
True joy is NOT about always being happy; we can be heart-broken and
still rejoice in the Lord because He is there to give us strength to make it
through the tough times.
Remember the passage in 2
Corinthians 11 in which Paul tells of his many challenges? Those verses tell us that five times he
received 40 stripes minus one; three times he was beaten with rods; once he was
stoned; three times he was shipwrecked; he was often in danger of robbers, of
his own countrymen, of the Gentiles; he suffered weariness and toil, hunger and
thirst, cold and nakedness…
I’m sure Paul was not happy about these types
of circumstances. Yet, his letter to the
Philippians is known as the Book of JOY!!!!! Because of his unwavering faith in
God, He could practice joy in the midst of all the terrible circumstances.
Is our faith strong enough to look
beyond what’s happening to us and focus on the God who never leaves us? Intimate
relationship with Christ is the only place to always find TRUE JOY!
Jesus says in John 15:11: “I have told you this so that my joy may be
in you and that your joy may be complete.”
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