Wednesday, February 20, 2008

JOY

"The joy of the Lord is your strength."
Neh. 8:10

Joy = Strength

I love the way KCM explains the importance of and our ability to exercise joy:


"Joy is not just a state of mind. It is not a fleeting emotion. Joy is a very real force, and the devil doesn't have anything that can stand up against it. Just as fear has to yield to Faith, discouragement has to yield to joy. Since Joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, you already have it residing within you. But you must develop it, confess it, and live by it if you want to to enjoy it's power."


The battle for Joy is not in our emotions, it is (once again) in our minds. So, as I have made a commitment to daily exercise my body, I am also going to commit to exercising and doing some strength training on my Joy. 
Anybody want to join me?

11 comments:

Shaun and Holly said...

Count me in!

Roxanne said...

Excellent word! Joyce Meyer says that the enemy goes after our joy so he can get our strength too.

Shari said...

Joy - This is all part of the journey in my reading "Battlefield of the Mind".
As my mind is submitted to God's word and will... it strengthens my faith and helps me to not "react" to situation but rather "respond".
I will admit that last week was a test in all of this - but I remain focused on my destination. It turns out that last week was nothing more than a bump in the road... no detouring.. but rather moving onward!!

Amy said...

Me too!!
Hannah's middle name is Joy--we named her for many reasons, one being b/c it took so long to conceive her, and the season we were in we needed a constant reminder of God's "Joy"...

Anonymous said...

Count me in too!
I cannot believe how much joy God has been giving me during these tough days. I know it is because I am choosing to worship and trust.
I am amazed at the by product of joy.

Rhonda said...

I love Joy! (I actually think it is the most beautiful name ever. I have an aunt by that name and I would have liked to have used it myself.)

You're right! We already have JOY!
It's ours!

Woo! Hoo!

Williams Family Blog said...

Thanks Jen, I am up for some Joy strength training too.

Tammy said...

Amen, Ashley insisted years ago that we add Joy to one of her middle names. Ashley Kristen "Joy" Pratt. She truly is a joy.
I am with you in the developing the Joy department. It's like a muscle, you have to keep exercising it and it will get stronger. The joy of the Lord is our strength......

Anonymous said...

I would love to join you, Jen!
My sister's name is Joy, and after reading this post, I see how very appropriate her name is! My mom and dad named her after the Bible verse Psalm 30:5, but little did they know how much her personality and life would reflect "joy"!
Thanks for sharing!

Tamatha said...

Where is it that you are exercising? I may want to join you!:o) Just not daily since I work at the girls home three days a week.

Tamatha said...

lol....I know the invite was the joy part.....but I laugh daily already...and get ppl looking at me like I am from Mars. So....I am asking about the physical part!lol (just so you don't wonder)