Saturday, September 22, 2018

Have you ever felt JOYFUL???

Have you ever felt just JOYFUL???  It's a very wonderful feeling....a very glad feeling.....it is feeling of being happy....it is feeling of great delight over something or someone!!!  To be full of JOY is wonderful - you feel like rejoicing all the day long!!! Singing, humming, laughing, smiling....just pure JOY fills your heart!!!

There is a buoyancy that I have felt all of my life that is pure joy....and to me it is knowing that God is by my side....every minute, every day!  I don't have to fear anything because I know He is on my side!  It is an incredible feeling and I am truly grateful that I know that kind of Joy, that kind of love from our Heavenly Father!!!

I Peter 1:8-9 says: "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious JOY, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Wow!!!  Isn't that incredible?  We can each have inexpressible and glorious joy....not just a little bit of joy, not a little bit of happiness, not a little bit of delight, but inexpressible!!!  Glorious!!!
Have you ever felt that kind of JOY?  It is glorious because it comes directly from Heaven.  It comes from knowing Jesus.

Joy is the way, the truth and the life because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life! 
Joy in the morning.  Joy throughout your entire day.  Joy at twilight.  Joy throughout the night.  Joy when the diagnosis comes.  Joy when bankruptcy comes.  Joy in our hopes.  Joy in our dreams - whether we are awake or asleep!!! 

Joy doesn't come from the outside or from our circumstances.  It doesn't come from a new car.  It doesn't come from a bigger house.  It doesn't come with a larger paycheck.  It doesn't come from being promoted.  It doesn't come from a clean bill of health.  Although each of these things in this life brings us happiness and some joy, the kind of joy I am talking about cannot be obtained by "things" of this earth.

The kind of JOY I am talking about comes from way down deep in our souls. 
It comes from having a relationship with the Creator of the Universe.  The Most High God.  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit - The Triune God - three in One.  He is a Omnipotent (having all power and authority), Omnipresent (being present in all places at the same time), and Omniscience God (having infinite knowledge).  He is amazing!!!

The Joy I am talking about comes from being close to this Divine, Most High God.  From calling Him Savior.  Calling Him friend.  Every day.  Learning something new about Him.  His love. His power.  His compassion for us as humans.  Reading His Word, the Bible.  Praying.  Confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness and healing.  Knowing He cares.

It comes from building a personal relationship with Him.  Not a superficial one - a true, genuine, real relationship.  One that lasts your entire lifetime!!!

Joy comes from trusting this God of the Universe to be by your side - day and night, thick or thin, happy or sad.  Over and over in the Bible, the scriptures tell us how much He loves us!  How much he cares for us!  How He will never leave us, nor forsake us.  Never.  Did that sink in?  NEVER!!!

That is a mighty powerful promise and it is one The Lord keeps for His children, His sheep, His people who love Him. 

Would you like to know that kind of JOY?  It is yours for the asking!  I pray you will ask Him into your heart today and find that buoyancy, that JOY.  It is truly amazing!!!