Day 24: Joy In The Desert
- Joni
- Jun 24
- 2 min read
What if JOY isn't a figment of your imagination?
What if JOY becomes so REAL
that you can't BELIEVE that you can actually
BE JOYFUL
when there is nothing that you
see or feel that has any JOY.
JOY is REAL.
It is closer than you can ever imagine.
Ready. Get Set Go.
"Celebrate GOD all day, every day.
I mean, revel in HIM!"*
Don't you SEE HIM.
Look at the trees.
Listen to the birds.
Look into the eyes of a child.
Feel HIM in a hug.
Let HIM catch your tears.
Give HIM your fears and worries.
"Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray.
Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers,
letting GOD know your concerns.
Before you know it,
a sense of GOD'S wholeness,
everything coming together for good,
will come and settle you down..."*
And before you know it
JOY overwhelms your inner being.
"It’s wonderful what happens when CHRIST displaces worry at the center of your life"*
JOY is not a figment of your imagination.
For when JOY enters into your heart,
it feels so surreal,
because you didn't create it.
It was there all along,
waiting for you to turn your eyes toward the ONE
who is the source of all JOY.
Oh I know this to be true.
When I choose to throw myself a pity party,
fixating on everything that is wrong in my life,
I lose sight of the ONE
WHO is
who is ALWAYS RIGHT,
ALWAYS FAITHFUL,
ALWAYS PRESENT.
I stop looking at my circumstances
and start looking at WHO is with me.
And that's when everything changes
Try it.
Ready. Get Set. Go.
"Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious~
the best, not the worst;
the beautiful, not the ugly;
things to praise, not things to curse.
Put into practice what you learned from me,
what you heard and saw and realized.
Do that, and GOD, who makes everything work together,
will work you into HIS most excellent harmonies"
*(Philippians 4:4-9 MSG).
Ready. Get Set. Go.
CHOOSE JOY
Not because life is perfect.
Not because your problems have disappeared.
But because JESUS IS YOUR JOY!
And when you choose to look for HIM,
you discover
HE has been holding you
all along,
for that is who
"JESUS IS"
(listen to the song below)!
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