{"id":23619,"date":"2018-08-05T03:30:57","date_gmt":"2018-08-05T10:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=23619"},"modified":"2018-07-31T14:42:51","modified_gmt":"2018-07-31T21:42:51","slug":"august-5-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/08\/05\/august-5-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"August 5, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“In your presence there is fullness of joy.”\u00a0<\/em>Psalm\u00a016:11<\/p>\n

The Surprise of Joy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the biggest surprises for me on this unexpected journey we’ve been on is that there has been joy on the journey.\u00a0Joy is not dependent on the circumstances we’re in!\u00a0On the hardest of days\u2014and there have been lots of hard days, physically, emotionally, and spiritually\u2014there has always been joy.<\/p>\n

It sounds kind of crazy!\u00a0If someone heard me talking this way, they might think the pressure has gotten to me.\u00a0But what I’ve learned is that you can’t press into God without finding joy!\u00a0Even in our pain, if we’re pressing into Him, He brings joy.\u00a0The joy of the Lord, the “joy unspeakable,” is greater than the pain.<\/p>\n

There have been times, both in Floyd’s illness and in my battle with cancer, when I have felt like I was daily walking through the “valley of the shadow of death.”\u00a0But while that shadow was very real, very close, and very strong, my heart’s goal was to keep pressing into the Lord. I knew that as long as I stayed close to Him, He would help me get through.<\/p>\n

I didn’t feel like I had to win the battle.\u00a0It was Jesus in me that would win. All I had to do was keep my eyes on Him, my hand in His, and let Him carry me.\u00a0And that’s where the surprise of joy came. As I did those things, He amazingly brought joy into my heart.\u00a0Even now I find it hard to explain it and give words to it.\u00a0 But it’s been so very real.<\/p>\n

The Bible says that the “joy of the Lord is our strength”\u00a0<\/em>(Nehemiah\u00a08:10).That kind of joy comes from Him. We can’t work it up.\u00a0We can’t fake it.\u00a0We can’t make it happen. It comes from pressing into Him in the midst of our trials.\u00a0What a precious gift it is!<\/p>\n

I’ve been meditating on all this, and someone sent me a video clip a few days ago of a young couple sharing.\u00a0The husband has brain cancer.\u00a0Without a miracle, he has one year, two at the most, to live.\u00a0They shared so movingly about the things God has taught them.\u00a0And one of the things was how they have been surprised at the joy they’ve had in the midst of such a hard time.\u00a0They hadn’t expected that.<\/p>\n

In the midst of hard seasons, none of us expect to find joy. But I want to assure you that it’s there if we simply press into Him in the midst of our pain. He surprises us with a gift that only He can give\u2014joy.<\/p>\n

Joy\/rejoice\/joyful are mentioned in the Word 430 times. Happy and happiness are mentioned ten times.\u00a0I think that God is not as interested in making us happy as He is in filling our hearts with joy. Joy is true satisfaction!\u00a0It satisfies the heart in a special and unique way.\u00a0Joy is lasting.\u00a0Sorrow, suffering, and the trials we walk through will pass, but joy continues in spite of hardships. Joy is God’s gift to us!<\/p>\n

\n\u201cFather, help us keep pressing into You. Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n

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