Joy

Having Confidence in God

Happiness is getting what you want in life and everything going as planned...joy is basically getting nothing you want or planned for...but it's a great opportunity to rest and trust in God's plan for you.

I don't know about you but I like being able to plan for things to be able to expect things.  Like when we finally got pregnant with Julia after trying for months and months and I took that pregnancy test at home and saw I was pregnant...first I was shocked and then I was so HAPPY...I couldn't wipe the grin off my face.  I was now able to plan for the next 9 months for her to get here.  I knew what to expect.  I was prepared.  Here in this picture you can see the Happiness on our faces.

The month of Sept/October of that same year...Julia was only about 9 or 10 months old...I got a wonderful surprise...I found out I was pregnant...AGAIN...my Julia wasn't 2 or 3 like most moms who plan out their pregnancies ever so carefully....I got a bonus baby.  Now, I had a choice.  I could sulk because I got something I didn't expect or I could be joyful and trust God for what was to come...thankfully, and this was only because of God's wonderfully grace, I was extremely JOYFUL.  

Julia was such an easy baby, happy go lucky, never ever cried (people teased me at church and said, does your baby ever cry?) she slept through the night early on, nursed and ate like a champ, I couldn't wait for another baby!   Even John, our financial planner and analytical thinker never once worried or acted nervous about this bonus baby, as we like to call our bubba.  People were critical and asked us stuff like, "What were you thinking?"  "It's going to be so hard with two babies!"  etc, etc, etc...and you know what, none of that ever worried me.  I surrounded myself with professional moms who had 3, 4, 5 kids and were doing wonderful, I learned from them, took notes from them, read books, and trusted that God would give me the strength, energy, and creativity to raise two babies close together.


Hey, what I did was no big deal...think about moms who have 3 or 4 kids under the age of 5 years old!!!! Think of Michele Duggar who has 19 kids!!! They are my hero!  


The book I'm reading right now on the Fruit of the Spirit called "Naked Fruit: Getting honest about the fruit of the spririt" by Elisa Morgan says:

 "Joy is confidence in God's grace, despite circumstances--despite what happens.  Joy is the ability to hold up because we know we are being held up.  Joy is the conviction that God is in control of every detail of our lives even when those details appear to be out of control."

 I love that quote...joy has NOTHING to do with us and EVERYTHING to do with God.  Now, you may say, Kristi, your situation was easy, it's easy to be joyful about a new baby...that's true.  What about death?  What about losing someone you love to death?

 Last night my dear friend from ladies bible study told me her mother lost her battle to breast cancer that day.  Thankfully she was not in pain and passed away in her sleep and she knew the Lord as her Savior.  But still, how can you be joyful in death?  How?  Putting on a fake smile does not mean you are joyful or happy that someone you loved died.  But knowing in your heart of hearts that your mom is now in the presence of Jesus and is no longer in any pain and has a new body that is cancer free, that can bring you joy.  Remember it's knowing that God will hold us up and allowing him to be our strength and our comforter...that can bring us joy.

"Joy is knowing our days are numbered...our loved ones will walk where we cannot go, but wherever they go God is already present."

 Here's another tough one.  The holidays spent with people you don't necessarily like.  You have a choice.  You can be miserable on the inside and put on a fake smile, or you can remember the reason for the season and put your confidence in the Lord that he will get you through the day with grace and dignity.  It's all about how we embrace our situations.

"Joy welcomes the "whatever" of any situation."

"Joy is confidence in God no matter what happens."

 Life throws us curve balls all the time.  We sometimes have to handle things we never thought we could.  

"Life is unpredictable and contains many unpleasant moments that happen.  And when they do, joy is the experience of holding on because we know that we are being held."

I think what I took away from this chapter was that God doesn't want me to ever give up on life or situations no matter how sad or challenging.  He gives me hope for the days ahead.  He is my strength always.  He holds me in the palm of his hands and I am safe.

Praise Him for that.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."

James 1:2