Dear Ones,
Hope you have a joy-filled day! I plan to make Finnish Pasty and go to an appointment with Al and tonight we start a new Women’s Bible study at church.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Joy is a wonderful and beautiful gift from the Lord and when He lives within us, joy seems to bubble over. Joy comes from a deep place for it is not dependent on our circumstances but rather the knowing that the Lord is with us in everything that touches our life. He never leaves us to struggle on our own, but promises to walk with us through whatever may come.
A verse that is on many plaques that you may have seen is found in Nehemiah 8:10, “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” Before Jesus left this earth, He told his loved ones that He loved them the way the Father loved Him and wanted them to be at home in His love. He said in John 15:11, “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature.”  The enemy wants to steal our joy, so we must guard against discouragement, finding our joy in the Lord even when problems come our way. Jesus, however, wants us to live in His love and to be completely joyful as He is.
Our Bible study group here at Northern Lakes is growing, not just in numbers but in depth with one another. After a recent Bible study, I got a text from a member who remarked how much joy is in the group. We had just studied the crippled man who was healed and went “walking and leaping and praising God.” The person woke up singing the song with those words flowing through her mind. She has been in other prayer groups before, but has never experienced this much joy and said that others will recognize us by our joy and love for one another.
We can be examples to others when we can remain peaceful and joyful even as we go through hard times. They see firsthand that Jesus is present in our lives and walking with us, giving us strength to overcome. Let us be joyful in Him!
Challenge for today: Go about your day with a joyful heart and sing a song of praise to Him.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy