Happy September! We are one month closer to FALL weather and all things pumpkin! In AZ, this is big news and an absolute reason for JOY!
Speaking of joy. I had a friend text me with a word they had for me last weekend. They said the Lord wanted me to look up 3 verses on Joy and pray and speak them over myself every day. I know that the Lord knows all but this word reminded me that I wasn’t feeling so joyful lately. God knew, but I wasn’t even thinking about that. Joy has always been a tough concept for me. It’s hard to wrap your mind around being joyful even when we don’t feel good on the inside. How can we actually feel happy when our circumstances are hard or not what we want? These are things I had to sort through over the past year or so. And the Lord was gently reminding me that once again, I needed to be a little more intentional about staying joyful even when I feel kind of, well, BLAH.
The first verse that came to my mind was, “The Joy of the Lord is my strength” Nehemiah 8:10. WOW. This verse is so powerful if we really think about it. We can be weak. We can wish things were different. We can be sad. But God’s JOY is what gives us strength. It is readily available to us every day and in every situation. And sometimes our joy is just knowing that God is in control and whether things are okay or not okay in that moment, they will in fact change in God’s timing. Reminding myself that God is in control and on the throne of every detail of my life brings me such joy and peace. And we don’t even have to depend on ourselves to feel joyful because HE supplies it for us. His strength is sufficient for us and His strength picks us up and gives us joy. I don’t know about you but I am SO thankful for that! I just can’t feel those things on my own. I NEED Jesus and His joy.
How about for you? Is Joy an easy concept or is it something you must be intentional with? Join me in speaking this verse over yourself this month. “THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH” Nehemiah 8:10.
May JOY abound in your heart,
Nikki Quaid
