a child of god
this is the way, run in it
In the midst of great struggle, of hardship, worry and hard work, of opposition - attacks in various forms, a phrase is found only once in the whole bible, in the book of Nehemiah, the phrase "the joy of the LORD is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). We sing so many songs about the joy of the Lord being our strength but that phrase in its entirety is found only once in the whole bible. I don't think that diminishes the truth of it, but actually highlights it - because of where it is found.
Joy has to do with fighting, with resisting the temptation to quit, to not believe, to give up. The Lord's joy brings us the strength we need to keep going, and not just keep going but to succeed in what He is taking us through, to accomplish what He has purposed in our lives, which are His. His joy strengthens our hands for battle, helps us raise our voice in praise and proclamation of His goodness, His authority, His lordship over all. His joy makes darkness flee, causes depression to wither and die, and helps faith to rise in our hearts again. Jesus and His joy, forged through the sacrifice of His own self on the cross for us, cannot be diminished or dimmed. His joy, His resurrection joy, shines for eternity. We heard a sermon in church a week ago where the preacher said that sometimes healing distracts us from listening to God. When we have no need, when we aren't desperate for a move of God, when we feel like we don't need God (how crazy is that?!), we become complacent, happy and we lose our edge. It's true. Iron sharpens iron, but it has to be drawn for use to be able to be sharpened. Come on, Church! What do we want? Do we want things that make us feel comfortable or do we want to see a move of God that shakes up everything? That kind of move comes through repentance before it hits the joy-filled revival stage. Do we want more of God? Do we want to see victory - His victory, His purposes accomplished, not ours - in our lives, in our times? Yes, we do! I was listening to a sermon by Bill Johnson of Bethel two nights ago entitled "Fulfill the Assignment." You can find it on YouTube and it is worth listening/watching. He talks about what motivates us to seek the Lord? What motivates us to pray? And he said, "many people wouldn't have a prayer life if they had no problems." That is sadly true of us all. Need drives us to God. But what about working with Him, living life with Him, talking to Him as our best friend, our boss, the One who is always for us? Bill Johnson also talked about a cycle of enduring persecution that leads to increase and that cycle repeats itself until we make it to a place of blessing. And he said that what we do in our moment of blessing actually determines how significant your next season will become. God tests us through persecution, through increase, He tests us through blessing, to see what is in our hearts and whether we have truly given our hearts to Him. Who do we give the glory to? Do we give the glory to ourselves, to one another, or do we give the glory to God who affects all things? And without whom we couldn't even draw a breath, let alone comprehend a spiritual concept. And when we make it through that cycle, through persecution without bitterness, we become more refined in purpose, in focus, and more bold in our witness. So the next time I feel like quitting, the next time I feel like complaining and giving up, I am going to choose to seek God's face, desperate for His presence, His voice, and His joy - to strengthen my faith, my mind, my spirit - and pray and wait and watch and see what He will do, because the Lord never disappoints us, hope in Jesus never lets us down. He's just so awesome and lovely and loving - infinitely worthy.
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Franci Ballwatching and working for the kingdom of God in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham - UK Archives
January 2019
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