Mourning Into Dancing ...

Exhibiting joy in the midst of trouble confounds the enemy. He’s focused on killing, stealing and destroying our faith in Abba-YHWH, so when we respond with His joy when the devil throws his best punch at us, it confuses him. This kind of joy causes him to temporarily retreat from the battlefield (our minds) in order to strategize a better approach. But we must never forget, though, that his only intent is to take us out and, furthermore, just how extremely cunning and patient he is. He prowls around believers like a hungry, roaring lion waiting for a more opportune time to strike again in order to devour our faith in our Heavenly Father. (John 10:10; 1 Peter 5:8; Luke 4:13)

It’s easy to wonder how we can possibly have such joy in times of severe trials and grief. But if we look at this scripture again, we can plainly see it doesn’t say it’s OUR joy that’s our strength but the YHWH’s. HIS joy builds us up and sets us back on course to face the ensuing battle yet again. All we have to do is ask…

Father, I am weakening from the fierce blows of the enemy. I cannot endure another moment unless you supernaturally intervene. Anoint (empower) me with YOUR joy, Father, that I may finish the race you have set before me. Strengthen me that I may declare in the face of my enemy that I am more than a conqueror in Messiah Jesus of Nazareth! Amen.

[Tracie Justice]

2 Chronicles 20:27 ... Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.

Nehemiah 8:10 ... Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.❤

Every Small Joy ...

Lord, let every small joy remind me You are near, using the simple pleasures of my day as whispers of Your presence, turning ordinary moments into awareness of You.

I forget you're near so easily, letting busyness and worry crowd out awareness of Your closeness, missing the evidence You leave throughout my day that You're right here.

Teach me to connect small joys with Your nearness, to see them not as random pleasant moments but as intentional reminders from You that I'm not alone, You're close.

A small joy, a moment of laughter, unexpected beauty, a warm cup of coffee, someone's smile, these aren't just nice things, but You are tapping my shoulder, saying "I'm here."

Help me train my heart to respond to small joys by thinking of You, to let pleasure point me toward Your presence, to use happiness as a trigger for remembering You're nearby.

Remind me that You're in the small things as much as the big things, that nearness isn't only felt in dramatic moments but in the gentle, ordinary joys You scatter through my day.

Give me a heart that turns naturally toward You when joy comes, even small joy, recognizing that every good gift is from You and evidence that You're close.

Let every small joy remind me You are near today, creating a rhythm where pleasure leads to awareness, where happiness points to Your presence right beside me.

Amen.

                                                                   faithfulgrace.com

Hebrews 13:5 ... Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. ❤

Followers!!

Beloved, may the Spirit of God help you to rise to heavenly mindedness. Do not be miserable money-grubbers, or sordid earthworms. Do not be pleasure hunters and novelty seekers. Do not set your affections upon these childish toys, which will be so soon broken up. Be no more children, but followers of the Lord Jesus. 

Find your joy in Jesus, your wealth in Jesus, your honor in Jesus, your everything in Jesus! Be in the world, but not of it. Sit loose, I entreat you, to this poor fleeting world. Get a tighter grip of the glorious world to come--so shall the love of Jesus fill your heart. Throw your anchor upward, into the soothing sea of divine love, and not downward into a troubled ocean. Anchor yourselves to the eternal throne; and never be divided even in thought, from the indescribable love of Jesus your Savior. 

It is your wondrous privilege, brethren, to lean your heads and hearts on the bosom of Jesus, until the day breaks and the shadows flee away. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

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Colossians 3:1-4 ... If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

1 Peter 2:11 ... Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

Nehemiah 8:10 ... Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. ❤

All Honey ...

Our mourning shall last but until morning. God will turn our winter's night, into a summer's day; our sighing, into singing; our grief, into gladness; our mourning, into music; our bitter, into sweet; our wilderness, into a paradise.

The life of a Christian is filled up with interchanges of sickness, and health; weakness, and strength; want, and wealth; disgrace, and honor; crosses, and comforts; miseries, and mercies; sorrows, and joys; mourning, and mirth.

All honey would harm us, and all wormwood would undo us. A composition of both is the best way to keep our souls in a healthy constitution. It is best and most for the health of the soul that the warm south wind of mercy, and the cold north wind of adversity both blow upon it. And though every wind which blows, shall blow good to the saints; yet certainly their sins die most, and their graces thrive best when they are under the frigid, drying, nipping north wind of calamity as well as under the warm, nourishing south wind of mercy and prosperity.

[Thomas Brooks]

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Psalm 30:5 ... For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Proverbs 30:8-9 ... Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

1 Peter 4:13 ...  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. ❤

Be Joy-Full

Baby steps towards the better leads towards your best. Press through in Joy and see the beauty of its finished purpose. Rest in His love as you move, and do not give into fear. Flow in His peace and rejoice in the details that are forming. 

Closer and closer you are moving towards your time of exposure and ministry. Stay close to Him in the mundane and He will fill your heart with love and purpose. Enjoy the journey and savor the minutes of this miracle life you live. 

Savor and see the people through the eyes of His love.  Speak ‘sincere love’ over their dry ground and see the life come forth!  You are a life-giving vessel, created to expand His glory and bring LIGHT and LIFE to those trapped in darkness and lies. 

[Troi Nelson Cockayne]

2 Corinthians 3:18 ... But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Ephesians 5:8 ... For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: ❤

"Treasure"

Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; Where your treasure is, there is your heart; Where your heart is, there is your happiness. 

[Augustine]

Matthew 6:19-21 ... Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

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"The Joy"

When the Christian has passed the valley of life, and is done with mortal care and grief, the Savior will welcome him home to glory with this joyful invitation, "Enter into the joy of your Lord." Then begins the heavenly joy of the believer. He rests with Jesus and enters into the joy of his Lord. And what is this joy? What is there about it that is so attractive? It is a joy unspeakable and full of glory. The pen cannot describe it, nor the tongue declare it. It is the joy of being with Christ, the joy of possessing the heavenly inheritance, a fullness of joy. 

The joy of heaven is full, satisfying, and eternal. It is ecstatic joy. It transports the ransomed soul with ineffable delights! This joy is to be found in the blissful presence of Christ. Blessed Jesus! You are the source and center of heavenly joy. Enable me to fix my heart upon you. Bestow upon me, your unworthy servant, the joys of your salvation. Let me not wander one moment from the path of life. Guide me safely through the wilderness, over Jordan, until, landed on Canaan's happy shores, I see you face to face, and in your presence, taste, through eternal ages, the joys of a redeemed soul. "In your presence," cries the Psalmist, "is fullness of joy." 

There is an abundance to lift every soul. There will be no lack of joy in heaven. The saints will always "be joyful in glory." How ravishing will be the joys of the redeemed in the mansions of glory! What ineffable joy will fill the soul of the believer, when he sits down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of God when he reigns with Immanuel on his throne when he views all heaven's bliss as his! Amid such joys as these, surely his enraptured soul must be lost in wonder, love, and praise. 

But the joy of the glorified saint in the presence of Christ is beyond human comprehension or knowledge. 

[David Harsha] 

Psalm 16:11 ... Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

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The Joy of Our Soul.

Christ became to us the Joy of Our Souls. Home, friends, health, wealth, comforts all lost their 'luster' that day when He saved us, just as stars are hidden by the light of the sun. 

 [Charles H. Spurgeon]

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Nehemiah 8:10 ... Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Isaiah 61:3 ... To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 ... And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost. ❤

But Rejoice!!

The deeper our troubles, the louder our thanks to God ought to be. Our hardships cannot destroy the melody of our praise; we count them to be the bass harmony of our life’s song, “He has done great things for us, and we are glad."

[Charles Spurgeon]

1 Peter 4:13 ... But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. ❤

Rejoice!!

Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice.

Luke 1:41-44 ... And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:  And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.  And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ❤

Supernatural Wings

Set apart unto Him your fears and concerns. Cast them into His hands and He will give you His perfect peace. Release the worm-like ways of man and soak in the Supernatural wisdom that only comes from His Spirit. Come away from the current of the world and the madness of natural man that has lost its Shepherd. See the Supernatural details of what the LORD will show you. Follow His lead and He will highlight the next steps. Flow with wide open confidence that He loves you and see your needs. Allow Him to show you what’s truly important and release your fears. Never leave the light of worship and thanksgiving, and your Joy will be full. 

[Troi Nelson Cockayne] 

Philippians 4:6-7 ... Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Psalm 100:4 ...  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. ❤

New Joy!!

John 2:3 ... And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

This incident is a very fitting illustration of the failure of all this world's joys. The wine ran out at a wedding-feast. There was not enough of it to last through to the end of the feast. It is just so with all earth's pleasures. It comes in cups not in fountains; and the supply is limited and soon exhausted. It is especially so with sin's pleasures. The prodigal son soon ran out of money, and began to be in need.   A poet compared the pleasures of sin to a snowflake on the river, "a moment white then gone forever!" 

But it is true in a sense also of pure earthly pleasures. Even the sweetness of human love is but a cupful, which will not last forever. The joy which so fills us today, tomorrow is changed to sorrow. Amid the gladness of the marriage altar there is the knell of the end, in the words "until death do us part." One of every two friends must hold the other's hand in farewell at the edge of the valley of the shadow of death and must stand by the other's grave, and walk alone for part of the way. The best wine of earthly life and of love, will fail. If there were nothing better in this world, how sad it would be! But it is here that we see the glory of Christ's gospel. When earth's wine fails Jesus comes, and gives Heaven's wine to supply the lack. 

How beautiful and how true is the picture here: the failing wine, and then Jesus coming with power and supplying the need! That is what He is doing continually. He takes lives which have drained their last drop of earthly gladness and He satisfies them with spiritual good and blessing, so that they need nothing more. When human joy fails Jesus gives new joy, better than the world's, and in unfailing abundance! How sad it is for those who have not taken Christ into their lives, and who have nothing but the empty cup when earth's wine runs out! 

[J. R. Miller] 

Psalm 145:16 ... Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

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Growing Process

You have been in a season of learning and growing. He has been preparing you for what is to come. Your ability to effectively communicate the message He is sending you to speak comes from His Spirit, but is sanctified, clarified and matured by a growing process. See and understand the process and be encouraged by the beautiful pieces. 

Just like fruit on a tree that forms, it is best picked when the time is ripe and the fruit is ready and mature. Your time is set apart and protected. Your divine design is unique. You have much to be encouraged by. Continue growing in the excellent direction the LORD is calling you in. Stay in the creative pocket of His presence. You are His creative hands, and just as Noah and his family moved in their purpose, continue to move in yours. 

As He has said before, ‘When it’s time, I will send water’. Surround yourself with encouraging thoughts, they make better life companions. Never start your day without your heart being filled with encouragement, vision, Joy and Hope. 

[Troi Nelson Cockayne]

Genesis 1:11 ... And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

John 15:8 ...  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

John 15:15 ... Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. ❤

Return To God!

When we find ourselves depressed, down, irritated, annoyed, or otherwise unhappy, we need to return to the source of our joy, and then we will see those circumstances that are sapping our joy in perspective. The circumstances of this life will pale into insignificance when compared to that which we have received from God. 

 [R.C. Sproul]

 

Zechariah 1:3 ... Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.

Joel 2:13 ...  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

1 Peter 2:25 ... For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.❤ 

Christian Life.

God intends the Christian life to be a life of joy not drudgery. The idea that holiness is associated with a dour disposition is a caricature of the worst sort. In fact, just the opposite is true. Only those who walk in holiness experience true joy. 

[Jerry Bridges]

Romans 6:22 ...  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

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The Religion of Joy

The religion of Christ is the religion of joy. Christ came to take away our sins, to roll off our curse, to unbind our chains, to open our prison house, to cancel our debt; in a word, to give us the" oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." Is not this joy? Where can we find a joy so real, so deep, so pure, so lasting? There is every element of joy, deep, ecstatic, satisfying, sanctifying joy in the gospel of Christ. The believer in Jesus is essentially a happy man.

The child of God is, from necessity, a joyful man. His sins are forgiven, his soul is justified, his person is adopted, his trials are blessings, his conflicts are victories, his death is immortality, his future is a heaven of inconceivable, unthought-of, untold, and endless blessedness. With such a God, such a Savior, and such a hope, is he not, ought he not, to be a joyful man?

[Octavius Winslow ]

Psalm 5:11 ... But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. ❤

Glory...

Glory follows afflictions, not as the day follows the night but as the spring follows the winter; for the winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory.

[Richard Sibbes]

1 Peter 4:13 ...  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

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Rejoicing Hope.

Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called "The rejoicing of hope."

[William Gurnall]

Romans 15:13 ... Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. ❤

Grateful Heart

The grateful heart that springs forth in joy is not acquired in a moment; it is the fruit of a thousand choices.

[Nancy Leigh DeMoss]

 

Psalm 138:1 ... I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. ❤

Our Source

When we find ourselves depressed, down, irritated, annoyed, or otherwise unhappy, we need to return to the source of our joy, and then we will see those circumstances that are sapping our joy in perspective. The circumstances of this life will pale into insignificance when compared to that which we have received from God.

[R.C. Sproul]

 

Philippians 4:7 ...  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.❤