JOY IS A CHAIN BREAKER
If God had an emoji
Close your eyes and picture God’s face.
What does His expression convey? What emotion is He pouring out?
Many of us who grew up in religion may picture a stern, melancholy, or aloof expression. But I have a new thought for you - what if He is smiling? Not only that, what if He is beaming with excitement?
God commanded His priest to declare over His children that He shines His smile on them!
“May the Lord smile down on you and show you His kindness. May the Lord answer your prayers and give you peace.” Numbers 6:25-26
God is passionately trying to get His message across to you! “I adore you! You make me happy! My heart is bursting with love when I look at you!”
You can go see for yourself in Psalm 139. God says, “I know every dream, emotion, and thought you have before it even enters your mind. I cherish you in My every thought! My sweet desires for you are greater than the sands on every shore.”
It may come as a surprise to you, but God is serious about joy. Joy is so critical to the kingdom of God that He filled one-third of His Kingdom with it! And He loves it so much that He made it a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Joy is the treasure of heaven and God wants to invest it in you!
How God fights His battles
Are you surprised that the God of heaven and earth thinks brilliant thoughts about you? The truth is that God is in a good mood! That’s something to smile about! But many of us tremble with anxiety, living curled up on the floor taking every blow. Scripture describes how God wages war:
“God-Enthroned merely laughs at them; the Sovereign One mocks their madness!” Psalms 2:4
He sits in the heavens and laughs at the enemy’s futile desperation.
What if every time the enemy tries to con you with a lie you laughed at it? There is power in rejecting poisonous thoughts and rejoicing in God’s truth! Believe this, God loves you, not because of what you do, but because love is Who He is. This is the joyful news every soul must hear!
God is a good Father who wants to equip and train you in the way heaven wages war!
If God wins battles through joy so can we!
So, God gives us His strength - which is His confident joy. So how do we grow joy?
Joy is a weapon!
Do you need strength? Then you need joy!
"Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” Nehemiah 8:10
Do you want joy? The get into God’s Presence!
“In Your Presence is fullness of joy.” Psalm 16:11
Have you ever experienced outrageous joy in your personal time with God? Or do you feel like your joy is held captive? A lack of joy can indicate that you are trapped in performance & perfectionism. But you were not designed to function as a single unit. If you cannot remember the last time you experienced real joy then maybe you are not in God’s presence as often as you were designed to be. Because time spent in His presence is where the transfer of joy happens.
There is literal power for every soul caught up in laughter with God.
Can you believe it?
Many of us have not felt real joy in a very long time. But God does not just want you to experience joy for a moment, He wants you to own it as a lifestyle!
We all have memorized the words, “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” But many of us are living lives empty of that strength. The void is terrifying because we don’t know how to get that spiritual truth to become our tangible reality.
So, how do we get this joy?
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13
Did you catch that? Joy and hope are the fruit of right beliefs. The moment we believe God’s truth is the moment we get filled with transformational joy through the Holy Spirit.
Joy is a chain breaker
Many of you may be thinking, “My heart is crushed. There is literally nothing to believe for anymore. There is no opportunity for joy.” What I want you to understand is that joy does not happen by accident. It is a fruit. That means if you water it then it will grow into maturity. Joy is cultivated in the soil of your heart before any evidence shows up above the surface.
There is a story of two men who grabbed onto joy and would not let it go in the middle of a joyless situation. Paul & Silas were beaten by a mob, stripped naked, and pressed with criminal charges all because they delivered a girl from slavery. Their rights were ripped from them and they had no justice.
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.” ACTS 16:25-26
Paul & Silas were in a dark place.
Their hands were shackled tightly, but they still raised them in praise.
Their necks were chained to the damp wall, but they still lifted their voices in song.
They were not thankful because of circumstances on the outside.
They were singing hallelujah because they had already been liberated on the inside.
Their joy was not passive,
Their joy was powerful!
Paul and Silas resurrected joy in that prison cell because their joy was anchored in a source outside the walls. Joy bubbled up from deep within them because they were confident in the unfailing love of God. As they praised, suddenly, the gates of bondage were unhinged, the chains of despair were unfastened. Worship was the catalyst for Heaven to invade that chamber.
Perhaps the most beautiful truth in this story is not that Paul and Silas were liberated, but that their worship brought a breakthrough so powerful that it demolished all the strongholds for the people around them.
It’s your time to break out with outrageous joy
Worship is how the saints of God wage war.
Your praise is the key to unlocking the atmosphere of heaven in your life.
When you’re sitting in the dark, do not wait for the feeling of joy to come by accident.
If necessary, drag your heart into the presence of God and worship.
The word says that God inhabits the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3)
It also says that in His presence is fullness of joy! (Psalm 16:11)
So, that means His joy will rub off on you as you sing His praises!
The greatest lie you may believe about joy is that it will arrive by chance.
Joy happens on purpose.
Joy is a result of intimacy with Jesus Christ.
Joy is a seed sprouted into growth through right believing.
Joy is the power of God to set you free.
Who God wants to be for you!
God’s power can light up the deepest night.
God’s suddenly can make the darkness quake.
God can liberate you from any prison cell.
Freedom is unlocked in the presence of God.
Worship is the anthem that precedes the invasion of Heaven.
Lift your voice in the middle of the battle and sing about the faithfulness of God.
God is serious about getting His joy into you! Next time you are in pain or in despair, remember - joy is not passive, joy is aggressive. Joy is the strength of God in you! And praise and thanksgiving are the weapons you use to fight your battles.
Do you have a story to tell of how God strengthened you. How do you grow joy in your life? I would love to hear about your journey in the comments below!
Love, Laurel
I made this for you!
I created a journal filled with inspirational truth about joy! May it spark many conversations between you and God!
A great idea!
Start a negativity fast!
Negativity Fast
&
Positivity Feast
STEVE BACKLUND
Waiting. Winter. Wasteland. Empty places. Don’t dismiss your barren seasons because they will grow into beautiful places in God’s hands. The Mastermind behind seasons knew the importance of prolonged waiting as a canvas to create expectancy in His children.