Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back
to you again! Give us back the joys we once had!
Let me give us some ways to
keep our joy fresh. I understand that we
aren’t always going to be up and excited.
We can put in place truth that we let us see through situations.
In the Christmas story each
player had to make a choice. From
Elizabeth and Zechariah a choice had to be made to believe that their son would
be the prophet of the coming messiah.
With Mary and Joseph had to come radical faith to not divorce but to
live by what God said. From the
shepherds and the wise men had to come determination because many people will
question what they said they saw.
The same is true for
us. Here are 5 ways to keep your joy.
1. Know who you are.
You are a
child of God. You have been chosen by
God and forgiven. He loves you where you
are and how you are. Much like the people
who followed Nehemiah when he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 8:17 NLT
So everyone who had returned from
captivity lived in these shelters during the festival, and they were all filled
with great joy! The Israelites had not celebrated like this
since the days of Joshua son of Nun.
The people had a choice to
make. Their lives in slavery were cared
for with food and shelter but hard labor.
Their lives in freedom meant hard work but peace and joy. Choosing joy is easier when we know who we
are.
Luke 1:14 NLT
You will have great joy and gladness, and many will
rejoice at his birth,
People celebrate Jesus and
have joy when Christmas becomes a reality.
Jesus is our joy and our reality.
2. Know they you are forgiven.
Romans 4:7 NLT
Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put
out of sight.
That is a
fact. Take it to the bank. Believe what God said. We are forgiven completely by what Jesus did
based on who He is.
Psalm 32:2 NLT
Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose
lives are lived in complete honesty!
3. Know that you are unique, blessed
and have potential.
You were
created by God. There is no one else
like you built to be blessed and to be a blessing to others. God placed in your life a boatload of
potential. It is my desire to call out
that potential in your life. Believe
what God said.
Psalm 33:12 NLT
What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has
chosen as his inheritance.
4. Know you have an awesome future.
Jeremiah 29:11
sums it up the best when God says He knows our future which is set hope and
greatness. That future is for you because
God loves you no matter what. He wants
to fill your life with joy that can not be taken away.
Romans 15:13 NLT
I pray that God, the source of hope,
will fill you completely with joy
and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
5. Know you make your Heavenly Father
smile.
We cannot earn God’s love or
preform so well that He loves us more.
He is proud of us just where we are.
His love is real and strong. By
knowing God’s truth, what God says, we can apply it to our lives.
Proverbs 2:10 NLT
For wisdom will enter your heart, and
knowledge will fill you with joy.
God is pleased with
you. It is somewhat like looking up in
the stands from the playing field and seeing your mom or dad smiling and
cheering. God is cheering for you, but
the difference is that He is with us all the time.
I am preaching a series of
messages at The Community Fellowship centering on points of the Advent. JOY is just one of those points. The question is this: do we allow the
situations of life to rob us of our joy?
By applying what we have learned from God and what we know from God our
lives will over flow with joy!
Honor and majesty surround him;
strength and joy fill his
dwelling.
Joy is the result of
focusing on Christ rather than my circumstances! – Perry Noble
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