Tuesday, October 11, 2011

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH!

Are you experiencing the joy of Lord? Or have you been living in a state of fear? Christians are increasingly being crushed by the weight of life’s greatest challenges. No matter who you are—pastor, Christian leader, teacher, businessperson, or homemaker—you are personally called to be an ambassador for Christ. No matter what you are going through do not allow fear to get a hold of heart. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). May I encourage you to embrace God’s grace for the journey—His grace is sufficient for you.

Fear has no place in your life and it is possible to allow the Holy Spirit to give joy in the midst of your trial. It may be that you have a fear of the future; not knowing what tomorrow holds but you know the One who holds your tomorrow. God promises that He will never leave you nor forsake you—He is right there with you and your fear is nothing but unsubstantiated fear. You can conquer fear by placing your faith totally on God, circumstances come and go but God is immutable. So be of good cheer my friend, it is going to be all right because God is on your side. God is for you, He is not against you and He loves you so much that no circumstance can alter His eternal love (Romans 8:37-39).

Here is the biblical principle to conquering fear. “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). It is possible to allow the Holy Spirit to cheer us up when we are down. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “…Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” I urge you to ask the Spirit of Joy to fill your heart with joy today. Here is a biblical example of how to do that! The apostle Paul, in the midst of a fearful experience, calls for the people to, “Keep up your courage.” (See Acts 27:9-44 for more details). God bless you as you are being renewed with the joy of the Lord—unspeakable joy and full of glory!

No comments:

Post a Comment