Joy Comes in the Journey

  

I've been thinking a lot about joy lately, simply because it is an emotion that is often associated with a momentous event, an exciting occasion, or a cause for celebration, and rightly so!

However, the more I read about joy in the Scriptures, the more I understand that it is something we can possess moment by moment.  Instead of waiting for one "big" moment to feel joy... instead it is something we are promised we can have abiding in us.

John 15:11 

These things have I spoken unto you, 

that my joy might remain in you, 

and that your joy might be full.

John 16:24  

Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; 

ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 

John 16:22  

And ye now therefore have sorrow, 

but I will see you again, 

and your heart shall rejoice, 

and your joy no man taketh from you. 

Romans 14:7 

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, 

but righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. 

It seems that I have been learning a lesson in how to remain with a joyful heart despite my circumstances.  And since I've been in this place of learning and teaching, I've begun to understand that I cannot hope to find joy, or peace or happiness or any of those things in the far and distant future.  If they are to be found at all, I must find and know them today - right now.

I know that many times I have thought - when we finally pay that bill, or when we finally can get to take that vacation, or when I finally get past that deadline... there will be a feeling of relief, and troubles will be no more... and joy will come.

Of course, I've been learning that this idea is all nonsense really.

Life is just a big bowl of cherries after all!

If you are going to enjoy the cherry, you have to deal with the pit.  They come in a package deal.

Life is not going to be perfect, and it is not going to be without its problems that seem insurmountable, at least in the moment they first arrive.

When I learn to recognize the little thoughts that pop up in my heart with that mighty big question "why"... why this trial, this problem, this circumstance... why me?... then I know I have to immediately squash that thought with the knowledge in my heart that it is okay for me to face difficulties.  It is my pit that is part of the cherry.  There is no "all good with no bad".  It just doesn't work that way.

Learning this has brought me into a place of great peace and joy, far greater than any place I've ever been before.  My life is about to turn into an upheaval with an imminent move, a significant downsizing on a shoestring budget.  So.... can I find peace and joy in the midst of all this?  That is the question I want to answer with a resounding "YES"!

My peace and my joy does not come in my circumstances, but it comes IN SPITE of my circumstances, and I am learning to find and look for that joy moment by moment, in the very little and insignificant things that may have gone unnoticed to the busy heart.

I am learning to stop and enjoy the little wildflowers bursting forth in all their glory hidden in a dark corner of the forest,  a piece of joy just for me to enjoy.

Joy comes from watching the lovely pansy bloom despite cool frosty nights, and hot windy days.

I am stopping to watch the small but mighty hummingbird dine on life giving sugar water.



Joy comes when beholding a hummingbird still enough to photograph!

Joy is holding a newborn baby chick in your hands that came from the egg your hens spent 21 days sitting on, and being amazed at the circle of life from which it just arrived.

Joy comes by learning to stop and absorb the love my two precious dogs so willingly give.

Joy is watching the smiles play across Annie's face while lying in the warm sunshine.

Joy comes as I enjoy the cool breeze that blows from the mountaintops, creating gentle music in the treetops as I walk through our forest.

JOY is able to love life in spite of - and with all - 

of its imperfections, sorrows, trials and triumphs. 

Joy comes in unannounced forms,

 quietly, softly, tenderly, 

and then your soul rests

 and sighs contentedly in that moment.  

I am learning that joy is not in the big things.  

It is not the vacation, 

the hope of debt free living, 

it is not the party or gathering, 

or a remarkable circumstance where it will be found. 

No... my joy comes from within, from the Spirit of the Lord that resides in me, and provides that contentedness that comes from spending time communing with Him, trusting Him, and loving Him.  It is the joy from HIM that completes me, and causes me to sigh in contentment, even when my circumstances may look otherwise.  My joy comes in the morning, after sorrow has spent its night, because I have hope in my Savior and HIS JOY comes to me in sweet precious moments throughout the day.

Do you have this joy?  I pray that if you have found yourself without it... as I know only too well how the storms of life can sometimes sap every bit of joy from your heart.... still yet it can be found... just look for that small moment where the joy of the Lord in a small way works its way into the deepest corners of your heart and fills it with that joy unspeakable... and full of glory.

It can be found... and had... today!  You don't have to wait until tomorrow, or next month, or next year. You can have it now.

May the Lord fill your heart with HIS JOY today... 

in a special unexpected, and beautiful way, 

and may you continue to look for joy in your journey NOW... 

because it is ours to have.  

It is a promise!

John 15:11 

These things have I spoken unto you, 

that my joy might remain in you, 

and that your joy might be full.