Glowing with Joy

May the glow of the fire in your eyes

be like the glow of joy in your hearth,

May the warmth of your hearth overflow

 like the love that overflows from your hearth.  

It's almost Valentine's Day...most of us look at Valentines Day and think about the curse of the western stigmas of "love".  Red ruffled heart shaped pillows with white embroidery, conversation heart candy, chocolate, teddy bears, and flowers. BUT....Honestly, when we are receivers of these gifts and happenings...it feels so good.  The feeling of so much happiness and love, the simplicity of how love does.  A kind of love that brings us great joy from connections with that person that was so willing to give.  That joy and love captivates us.  

For much of our population Valentine's Day draws out quite a skeptical and quite jealous, prideful, hurt filled heart, filled with pain, pity, sorrow, sadness, anger, and  a feeling of overwhelmed consumerism and materialism.  We get caught up in the misfits of RED WHITE and PINK of this day.  We automatically forget how the Father has given us the gift of friendship and love as a gift; a gift that can exude great joy, that can extract great joy from each one of our hearts.  

If every morning we can only wake up, sunshine beaming through the sheer drapes or the gloom grey of the cold still over our head, or even in the out pour and downfall of heavy rain hitting our roof above our home, that we would recognize how Father God gives us these valentines everyday.  He says to us in Philippians 4:4-5  "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all, The Lord is near.  With that may this Valentine's Day may you be blessed and impacted by the joy of the Father over you, over your life, over your sonship with Him.  May your love be encompassed and completely dependent and remaining in Him.  

Here is a short interview with Lizzie Her, prayer coordinator for SEALS 2014, about her joy. 

what does joy mean to you?

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word joy as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness”. However, as much as I meditate upon it, I find that that definition is rather limited, explaining only one aspect of joy as depicted in the Bible.

You see, we normally view joy as moments in life where: we are happy, when things are going exactly how we had planned it to, when something happens in our favor, or when we receive more than we had bargained for. We usually do not equate joy with moments of suffering and despair. It almost seems contradictory.  However, we find in the Bible that certain believers found joy in the midst of trials and tribulations. James 1:2 states “My brethren, count it all as joy when you fall into various trials,” and “more than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance” found in Romans 5:3.

But, how can we receive such joy in times of suffering?

Only one answer seems possible. True joy can only be found through God. It is not dependent upon our circumstances or our situations. Joy comes to us when we find confidence in God. It comes to us when we live in his presence and spend our lives in worship. When we do, no matter the season, weather it be bitter or sweet, we find joy and understanding.

What does choosing joy mean to you?

To choose is the opportunity to pick. This opportunity is also masked with other opportunities with different outcomes. It is a matter of choosing wisely.  To choose joy means to earnestly seek the fullness of joy, wherever you may be, through God. However, choosing joy may be more complex than meets the eye. Given the opportunity to choose, no one will probably choose the latter. However, we get caught up, consumed, and pulled into areas in life where joy may seem like that is the last thing that may happen. In the midst of it all, hope is lost and choosing joy seems out of reach and is there a difference between the two (joy and choosing joy)?  

The two showcases the control and power that we have over our lives and our choices. We have the opportunity to choose God in our lives or reflect God in our lives.

When we choose God, joy is an alternative, something that can come back and forth with no foundation. We beginning playing with our emotions and will be easily moved.

However, when we reflect God, joy is constant. It is not an emotion that is forced or fabricated. It is not dependent on our situations or circumstances. It is ongoing despite the season in life.

A short testimony about the times that you have found great deep joy in The Lord.  It can be the kind that is happy or it can be the joy you find after great struggle

I am a very composed person but a certain incident a few years ago consumed me. I had never been in that type of situation before. I felt taken advantage of and restricted. I felt it was unfair and unjustifiable. The months following were very hard to cope with. There was bitterness in my heart and I became a person I never knew existed. Feelings of anger, betrayal, and hatred began to consume me. It was scary.  I did not like who I was on the path to becoming. Therefore, I dived into the Word of God, meditating and pleading for understanding. God intervened. In the midst of the mess that I had become, he showed me that I needed to forgive. After I forgave, a feeling of joy overcame me.  This experience was an eye-opener. As I began to lose sight of the shore, it was harder to choose joy even though I wanted that above all else. It is proof that joy, in our trials and tribulations only exists through God.

What season are you in spiritually and what lessons are you drawing from them?? What verse have you been turning to in this season of life??

This season in my life is dedicated to prayer. After speaking to Janice, she showed me the passage found in John 17 and this passage has been very heavy in my heart. It is Jesus’ prayer before he is captured and crucified. It is a three part prayer, a prayer dedicated to himself, to his disciples, and to the believers.  While reading through his prayer, many questions ran through my mind. What would happen if I began a culture of praying? And, what would it look like if my prayers became contagious? What would contagious prayers in my family look like? Contagious prayers in my youth group? Contagious prayers among the church leaders? Contagious prayers within the my church congregation? The SEAC Committee? The SEALS attendees? The conference?  As I begin this journey of constant prayer, God is beginning to change and transform the hearts and minds of many people in my family, in my youth group, the leaders in my church, my church congregation, as well as mine. Please join me in prayer as I continue this journey. Most importantly, ask yourself this question: what would happen if you began a culture of prayer within your community? What would it look like?