Joy Through It All
Joy Through It All
The greater the dream God gives you, the greater the journey you’ll be on to get there. God wants to give you the desires of your heart, but you must be willing to persevere until those promises come to fruition. In 2 Timothy 4:7 (TPT), Paul writes, “I have fought an excellent fight. I have finished my full course and I’ve kept my heart full of faith.” There is so much to learn from that declaration. Are you willing to fight for your dreams and see them all the way through like Paul?
To move toward all God has for you, you will need strength to persevere. Nehemiah (8:10) says that we are strengthened by the joy of the Lord. Most times, we get bogged down by worry and concern because we are distracted from what God has promised us. When we lock our eyes on God, redirect our focus to what He’s told us, we will be filled with strength that only joy can bring us. Jesus is our great example of this. In Hebrews we are told that it was, “Because His heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be His, He endured the agony of the cross (12:2, TPT).” Jesus endured because He fixed His eyes on joy.
To accomplish all God has given you to pursue, here are 3 ways to be filled with His strengthening joy.
Write down what God has shown you. When worry or an anxious thought appears in your minds eye, read what you have written, and thank God in advance for all to come.
Memorize the following verse and declare it for yourself every morning: “This is the day the Lord has made. We (I) will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalms 118:24, NLT).”
Jesus said, “Ask me anything in my name, and I will do it for you!” (John 14:14, TPT). Ask God to fill you with the strength of His joy.
God will give you the strength to persevere as you are filled with His joy. Lean into Him every day, and like Paul, you will say; “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful
(2 Timothy 4:7, NLT).
Remember, with God all things are possible,
Dr. Rob Schiffman
CCC Movement