One afternoon last November, I was sitting across from my friend Brandi on the patio of Cava, where we met for lunch. She’s one of those friends with whom the conversation is endless, always bubbling with updates, and the time we have together is never enough. Towards the end of lunch, Brandi gave me a gift. As I opened the box and removed the tissue paper, I lifted out a glass sculpture. It was a beautiful intertwined glass loop. She called it Endless Joy.

What Brandi didn’t know was that the Lord had been talking to me about joy. About how I was lacking in it and how He wanted me to experience the fullness of joy.

As God would have it, not only did He have Brandi give me a physical gift, but also a revelation about allowing myself to be soft in His hands. I began to meditate on joy and ask questions about how to receive it and keep it.

Another scripture, I thought of was Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV,

I wrote in my journal back then, “We get to choose which strength we want — Yours which comes from Your joy, or ours, which comes from our striving.” I knew that most of the strength I had been operating in was from my striving and not His joy, after all I learned from an early age to soldier on and compartmentalize my feelings even in the worst of situations. There was no time to cry, wallow or feel sorry for myself.

This quest for the fullness of joy led me down an interesting and sometimes painful path some of which you have read here on my blog like, Disappointed with God? And A Step Beyond Disappointment. God challenged me to give up the strength I relied on from striving and to receive His strength, which comes from His joy. This meant saying yes to digging up tightly sealed and deeply buried emotions and protective mechanisms.

During my prayer time to prepare for today’s post, I first heard “perspective” then “joy”. I chewed on it for a while, then I turned to recent thoughts I had been having. I told a friend of mine that my posture in September is to be expectant and to live right now in the joy I expect to have when His promises to me come to pass. Then it hit me — “The Perspective of Joy” — and I instantly remembered lunch with Brandi! I connected the dots and saw that the thoughts I was having about expectancy and joy were fruit of the journey God has taken me on since He pointed out my lack of joy last year.

Now as I reflect on the last 10 months, I see that what God was doing has led me to this moment, which is having the perspective of joy even in what I haven’t experienced yet. He unearthed and healed places of disappointment, anger, fear, grief, pride, self-righteousness, among other things. While I know there are more things to uncover, I am grateful for His steadfastness in healing what was ready to be addressed.

Friend, take a moment to reflect on the last year. Do you see a thread running through the things God has asked you to do? Does that thread lead to joy? What does it look like for you to have a “Perspective of Joy.”

Until next week …

Miracles + Blessings!

Brenda

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