The Importance of Joy

We had experienced a very fun afternoon with our grandchildren; Smiley face chocolate

chip pancakes with Butter Tart ice cream for lunch, peeping through binoculars from the

deck into the backyard, riding down the hill in Amma's new gardening wagon, then more

rides in the wagon (including the dog), attached to Papa's riding lawn mower! What a

blast; Riding, laughing and enjoying sweet things to eat! Who needs the fair or an

amusement park when you can create fun in your own backyard!?

I'm reminded through these fun moments at how important joy is. The Bible says in

Nehemiah 8:20, "The joy of the Lord is my strength."

But how can we experienced joy, especially when we are hearing so much bad news nowadays, this world is becoming a darker place, and even as we face our own brokenness and pain?

Just like fruit, joy needs time to grow! We do not always experience joy in times of pain and misery. But there are certain things we can do to grow joy, even in times of hardship:

Watch your thought life:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or

praiseworthy—think about such things...... think on these things" Philippians 4:8

Be thankful:

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:1

Give Jesus your broken heart:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Isaiah 61:1-3

What a beautiful promise – the oil of joy for mourning! I have experienced this kind of healing in my life from the Lord. How about you? Have you given the Lord your heartache and pain and allowed Him to fill you with His joy? Don’t put it off – give Him your heartache today, and He will fill you His joy!

God can Use a Turkey!

"You turkey!" we say when a friend or family member does something goofy or mischievous. Then we all laugh and brush off the minor misdemeanour's.

But the other day God used not one, but a whole flock of wild turkeys to lift me up! “Huh? How’d they lift you up?” you ask. Well, they didn't literally LIFT me up, but they lifted my spirits!

Pretty weird huh? How can a flock of turkeys lift your spirits you ask? Let me tell you…

So, I was actually having a really difficult day. I was feeling very depressed and sadness covered my soul like thick darkness. Nothing seemed to matter. My soul was in anguish over some of the grief that I carry in my heart and it was especially keen on piercing through any and all of the good in my life. I was feeling as though there was only despair, no hope.

My husband and I were travelling home on a county road that same day and suddenly he exclaimed, “WHAT is THAT?” I looked and shouted, “Wild turkeys!” He pulled over and I grabbed the binoculars that we keep handy in the vehicle. The sight was really amazing! There was a harem of several turkeys in a farmer’s field on the other side of the road and two toms were displaying their tail feathers in a very extravagant manner while presenting a little dance for the females. They were sizing each other up and at the same time trying to impress all of the “ladies”. I was just wishing that I had my good camera when I remembered it WAS in the vehicle; I had forgotten to take it in a couple of weeks previous. I triumphantly scrambled to the back of the Jeep to grab them, hopped outside and began snapping away! Wow! What a rush! It was truly a great experience seeing all of these wild creatures in action! We ended up crossing the road, walking down a ditch, across a makeshift little bridge and through part of a field to the edge of a tree line to try to get a closer look; but as smart as turkeys are, they already were far ahead of us in reaching the other end of the next field!

God will use different things, people and circumstances to lift up our spirits! He works in mysteries, and also uses the simple things of life to encourage us at our lowest times.

Look at what David said in Psalm 3:1 & 2 – “Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me “There is no help for him in God.”  

What hope is there if even God will not help? Do you sometimes feel that way; as though your circumstances are saying that there’s no way out, that even God cannot help you, in fact - He’s against you too?

But listen to what David says next in verses 3 & 4, “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.” Isn't that beautiful and encouraging? The Lord is the one who lifts up your head! In other words, when your head is hanging low in despair, He’s there to lift it up!

So – back to the turkeys! The thing that I wanted to share with you was that after this encounter with nature, I simply felt better! I had a sense of joy and excitement, my heart was encouraged! Now, this may not have been the case for you if you had seen some wild turkeys, but God knows what each of us needs. He touches each of us in very personal ways. God knows that I love His creation and nature photography, and He gave me a chance that day to set aside my feelings of doom and despair and trade them in for His joy! Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength”. I received joy from the Lord through those turkeys that day, and as foolish as that may seem to some, it was a miracle of His grace to me!

May you receive encouragement from these words I have written here today, and may the joy of the Lord be your strength!!!