Joy!
I am affectionately known as The Joy Queen. I can’t remember who started calling me that, but it kinda stuck and in all honesty, I like it!
Am I always “happy?” Nooooo, not by a long-shot! But I do live in a place of joy in the Lord! Why is this important? Because in times of living in the messy, we need to know where our Joy comes from so we can live free from fear, oppression and anxiety! Recently I asked a handful of my friends what the meaning of joy is to them and here are their responses:
A happiness so deep within nothing can destroy it!
Strength!
Contentment no matter what circumstances or situation you are in.
Trust. I can’t truly have joy if I’m worrying about something!
Complete trust in God that His ultimate plan is perfect.
Strength that keeps me going over and over again.
Peace from deep within. Thankfulness even in an unrest world...I got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!!!
The joy of the Lord is my strength.
Just from these few responses, you can see that joy means so much more than just being happy! Out of curiosity, I did a word search in the Bible for the word joy and there are over 100 verses that speak of joy in the Lord! One of my personal favorites is Galatians 5:22-23, it reads:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (ESV)
As Believers, we oftentimes will seek after this fruit of the Spirit. When we express these character traits to people in our influence, we are showing God’s love to them.
In the Webster 1828 dictionary (my personal favorite because it relates to Scripture), the definition of joy is:
Joy: Noun (note it’s a noun not a verb!)
1. The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good; that excitement of pleasurable feelings which is caused by success, good fortune, the gratification of desire or some good possessed, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exultation; exhilaration of spirits.
Sometimes in our every day conversations, we use the word joy very simply. “What a joy your little girl is!” or “There was a childlike joy in the classroom or “There is joy and satisfaction in nature” and finally, “The joy of the free market.” Again, very casual words. But when we really understand the biblical meaning of the word joy, it brings it all up a notch. Let’s investigate this a little more together.
The Hebrew language has several words for joy, each with different shades of meaning:
'Simcha' (ch is a soft gutteral, between h and the ch of 'Bach')
means happiness in the most full sense. 'Gila' is a stronger
sensation of joy but more transient and worldly
(related to 'gal' = wave.)
'rina' is a joy related to singing and shouting.
'ditza' is joy related to dancing.
'hanaah' enjoyment (of something specific.)
And in the Greek language:
Chara: Transliteration: chara
Phonetic Spelling: (khar-ah')
Definition: joy, gladness, a source of joy.
And then I have my favorite acronym
for JOY: Jesus, Others and You!
Really want to learn more
about joy? Read on…
The first letter of JOY is J for Jesus:
Where do I start? The most important message here is, do you know Him? Not just do you know of Him, but do you KNOW Him? How would you explain Him to others? Who is He in your life? What is one thing you want your children or grandchildren to know about Jesus? What was the experience that brought you to Jesus? How can you be sure that you have a relationship with Jesus? You can spend time with Him daily. You can come to Him in worship.This act alone breaks down oppression, anxiety and depression! It will cause you to hunger for more of Him.
The good news here is it brings JOY in the messy of life, in the hard times in life and we can all use more of that right now! Read His Word and ask Him to speak to your heart so you can understand everything He has for you. Do you know that the Word is alive? There have been many times in my life that I needed an answer to a question and I went to His Word and the verses almost jumped off of the page at me. It was exactly what I needed to hear at the moment. In troubled times, we have to stay close to the vine, and the vine is God. Hear me on this ladies, you don’t have to be “religious” about it either. Jesus loves you so very much. He wants to have special time with you. Worship with music and song! Remember, it breaks oppression and brings joy! Pray, read and listen for Him to speak to you. Journal what you hear in your spirit. Journal and investigate with discernment, asking God for the meaning of what you see in visions or dreams. That’s God talking to you! Ask for divine appointments in your day. Ask Him to number your day for what is important to get done, that’s relationship. That brings joy.
Devote yourself to Jesus!
The second letter of JOY is “O” for Other’s.
How are you the hands and feet of Jesus? What community do you surround yourself with? Are they positive and loving? What can you do in your life to express God’s love and joy to others? What about forgiveness or blessing someone? Is there someone in your life now that you need to forgive? Ask God to help you do it and He will! How does God express His love for you in your marriage? Family? Friends? It says in the Bible:
A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 (NKJ) We all know who that friend is right? Jesus!
Growing up, my mother used to tell me that in order to have friends, I had to first be a friend. Let’s pause here for a second and talk about being a truth teller to your friends. Have you ever been with a girlfriend who has had a terribly hard day?
Maybe she is very down on herself for whatever reason. What can you do? You can tell her the truth. God’s truth for who she is in His eyes. This is your opportunity to let the love of Jesus shine through you. How does Jesus see her? What is His heart for her? Your conversation might sound like the one I just had with a friend. She was feeling rather down on herself and was listening to the lies of the enemy telling her she wasn’t good enough. After praying and asking Jesus to show me how He saw her, I responded with:
“I was thinking about you today, and thinking about all of the things that Jesus says about you. He says that you are kind, compassionate, filled with mercy, you have His heart. You are strong yet tender. You are a survivor and an overcomer. You are wise and you have good integrity. You are confident and courageous. You have self-respect and you give respect to everyone. You are outgoing and friendly. You know the importance of family. You are loved and adored by many. Never think that you aren't good enough. Jesus thinks otherwise and so do I.”
Do you see how being a truth teller in the lives of your friends and family can help give them joy? Make it your habit to see people through the eyes of Jesus, through the heart of Jesus and tell them! We all need to hear it. We are called to see the good in all people, to encourage them and tell them of the love of our Father towards them. My challenge for you right now is to grab a pen and write a note or send a text to a friend who is down, someone who could use a little joy. Tell them how God sees them and who they are in His eyes, in His heart! Send a handwritten greeting card with a scripture tucked inside. This will not only bring you joy, but it will change her world! Practice doing that every day and see how you can give joy to others. You can even take it a step further and check in on people who are home alone. See if you can go to the store for them or if they need anything. Call and see if you can pray with your friends and family. We need to bring God’s joy to others.
Demonstrate God’s Joy to others!
And finally, we have the “Y” for You!
Who are you to everyone in your life? Are you a mother, daughter, sister, wife, student, homemaker, grandmother? Most of all, you are a Daughter of The King! You have rights in the Kingdom. Expect those promises in your life for this will bring you true joy!
It says in the Bible over and over that we are heirs to the Kingdom. In Romans 8:17 it says, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.” (KJV).
The definition of an Heir is a “person who inherits or has a right of inheritance in the property of another following the latter's death.” Isn’t that what we have with Jesus’s death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave? Didn’t he say that we have that right? The Bible says we are co-heirs with Jesus! It’s time you know your identity in Him!
We are after His titles, not who the world says we are. This wisdom needs to get from our heads to our spirit! Ladies, we are all more alike than unalike. The enemy would love to poke at you and make you feel alone in your pain in striving to be perfect. We need to be authentic with each other and bring freedom! My word for this year is purity, not perfection. Are you with me on this? Could you use a little more of His joy over you and less comparing yourself to others.
What about you? Do you know who you are in Christ? Do you know the joy that He has for you? I want to encourage you to take time to sit with the Lord and find your true identity in Him. Ask Him to reveal to you where you have been believing a lie from the enemy or a lie that was spoken over you, even as a child that has kept you from moving forward in your life.
A few years ago, I had a very vulnerable experience. I was having some head-shots taken and while I was sitting in the chair of a professional makeup artist (who works on models I might add), I was sharing with her about the flaws I had on my face. You see, I felt intimidated by the photos of the beautiful women on her walls. And I started speaking down about myself to her. You know the script, “I have a scar here, I have wrinkles, and my face is falling!” And she abruptly stopped me and said: “Please don’t say anything else negative about yourself! You are a beautiful woman. You are a JOY giver and you shouldn’t be talking about yourself this way.”
Ouch!
The coach got coached!
I ruminated about this for a few days, and it was transformational for me. Through this woman that I didn’t even know, I heard the heart of God speaking to mine. He said to me: “It doesn’t matter what weight you are or how many wrinkles you have. I love you. You are so beautiful to me.” This is huge ladies. Our Father loves us so much! And He thinks we are beautiful. Now I am walk with a new confidence, knowing that I am beautiful, valued and wonderfully made! He calls us His joy!
What are the desires of your heart? God placed those promises in you as your purpose in life, your destiny! What is your soul statement? What makes you cry when you think about doing it? What are you passionate about? What creative ideas did He give you? He wants to give you the desires of your heart. He sings Joy over you!
