Get a mental image of the noise 5 giggling pre-teen girls can make. Now multiply that by 10 and you might be in the ballpark. Friday night, my daughter had 4 friends sleep over for her 10th birthday party. The girls had an absolute blast… I'm still tired. I had been thinking of doing "Joy" as a fasting and prayer topic for some time now. Watching the girls and the fun they had Friday night really solidified the "Joy" idea.
I took the girls to the festival at Christopher Dock Friday night. If you ever have doubts about what it means to live in the moment, just watch a group of kids on a moon bounce. There is no worry… no guilt… no remorse… no regrets. Just a bunch of bouncing and laughing. As a father, it gives me great joy to watch my children enjoying themselves. Don't you think our Father is the same?
If you do a search for the word "Joy" in the bible, you'll find 300 references for "Joy", "Enjoy", or other variations. "Joy" is one of the fruits of the spirit. It's an awesome gift from God. But what does it mean? Let's look at the word "enjoy"? It means to take pleasure in. Said another way - it means to find the joy in something. Yet we so often find a way to squeeze out joy… to overlook the positive… to not live in the moment.
As we fast this Wednesday and pray for Joy, let's think about a couple things. Is there something that is currently stealing your own joy? Perhaps it's worry, doubt, fear, guilt, anger, etc. If so, what will it take to turn that over to God and let him replace it with joy? The joy that comes from being free. Perhaps you don't have a problem with joy. Maybe it's someone in your life who needs to do this. Pray for them this Wednesday. When we are full of the Lord, we are full of joy.
John 12:46 says: "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." God is big enough to handle all the things that steal our joy. Let's allow him to handle those joy-stealers and start enjoying the light.
Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob
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