12 Gifts From God Gift # 8 Joy

GIFT NUMBER 8: JOY
by Deb Forbes copyright 2008

Joy is the 8th Gift from God I want to explore. Joy to me is great delight and happiness, but the joy of the Lord goes beyond just feelings. It is delight, happiness, strength, contentment, pure love: it is the feeling and knowledge of being whole and complete. It is being content and happy when you have trials and tribulations and not only joy, but as it says joy unspeakable. 1 Peter 1:7-97 “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.:”KJV It is knowing that your faith in Christ is precious and that at the end you will be with Him in heaven, it’s a feeling of satisfaction. Have you ever been so happy that you can’t find the right words to say to express that happiness that’s what joy unspeakable is like and it’s all the time for all the children of God. Now that doesn’t mean that you will never be sad or grieved or angry, but it means deep inside yourself you still have the joy of the Lord. When you are grieved or sad or angry you can draw on the joy of the Lord and find strength to keep going like it says in
Neh. 8:10b “for the joy of the LORD is your strength”KJV When I got sick at first they couldn’t tell me what was wrong which is very frustrating and a little scary really,  but even though those feelings were there I also knew deep in my heart that God cared and was taking care of me and I still was joyful and I drew on that joy I find in God to have the strength to overcome those other feelings and to not give up. Even now as I keep adding other diseases to the list I have I continue to be able to be joyful and feel complete and satisfied because I know the joy from God which is always there and it really does give me strength. I always remember that even though it seems things are mounting up against me that like David says in
Psalm 30:5b “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” KJVwhat a wonderful promise that all we have to do is hold on because joy comes in the morning. People ask me all the time how can you be so upbeat and happy all the time with all that is wrong with you and my answer is I know that I am in God’s loving arms and I have joy in my heart from God because I know its all part of the job God has for me to do. It doesn’t matter if I am sick because I know that eventually I will get the ultimate healing when I go to be with God in heaven. So my faith and the Joy of the Lord sustain me for now in my walk with God and in my job I have to do. This gift of joy is for everyone, all you have to do is to accept Christ and the joy is given to you. Christ is our Joy and at this time of year when everyone is singing about Joy in the World remember the true Joy comes from God. Next time you are faced with troubles then remember the Joy of the Lord is there to sustain you and give you strength. I hope and pray that everyone will draw on this gift of Joy and find strength, delight, happiness, contentment, and completeness that this gift will provide. Thank you God for all you do and for this gift of joy you give to sustain us through this life.