Love Letters for SinglesНамуна

A DOSE OF JOY

"Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19 NKJV 

Get your joy back! All the devil needs to do is use a bad experience to throw us off our joy and our focus. He knows that we need joy to draw strength from God. The AMPC version of Nehemiah 8:10 says, 'And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength...' And Isaiah 12:2b (NLT) says, 'The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.' 

A few years ago when I was going through a tough breakup, I stumbled on a message by Rev. Funke Ewuosho, 'The Joy of the Lord'. As soon I began to listen to this message, my spirit leapt for joy within me. It felt as though I had taken a dose of something that lifted me up. That is what happens when God's Word enters your heart! I decided to keep that message on loop for weeks and weeks on end. Slowly but surely, I got my joy back! I experienced Nehemiah 8 and Isaiah 12: my joy comes from God and His Word; and with that joy comes strength to rise up from anything, including depression! Receiving God's Word became my focus in that season. I radically reduced the time I spent on social media and on idle activities, so I could renew myself and gain strength through His Word. As someone said, there are no side-effects to taking any amount of God's Word! It is life to those who find it, and health to the whole body (Proverbs 4:20-22). Stay on God's Word. You may not 'feel' any different instantly, but as long as you commit to taking in His Word no matter what, it will inevitably transform you from the inside out.

Instead of allowing depressive thoughts to flood your mind, draw strength from God. He wants to wipe away your tears and give you beauty for ashes. It is okay to cry. You may even feel as though God has forgotten you. But don’t stay in that place for long - because the truth is, God has not forgotten you, and He sees each tear that falls. His plans for you have not changed! You are His precious child who is already loved. It is when you wipe away your tears that you can see all that God has in store for you. He cares about every little detail and He wants to make you whole again!

JOURNAL:

Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word.  Can you make spending time with God and in His Word your priority from today? What scriptures have been a blessing to you, and how can you cultivate a daily habit of meditating on and studying them?