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Walking around and all you see is sadness, madness, craziness…the place is filled with chaos, but you are in perfect peace. This can’t be!!! HOW THE HECK IS THIS POSSIBLE!!!!!! But it is!! Sweet joy is quite possible.
Now if you’ve ever read anything from me, listened to a teaching or speech conducted by moi, you know that I always make it personal. This read won’t be anything new. Sorry to get your hopes up and drop them suddenly. HaHa! It’s not always easy to open up myself to you, but it’s the only way I can show you what I mean: through my personal testimonies.
So back to this thing about JOY! My middle name begins with JOY and it ends in a French ‘et’. (May be from my French roots? Who knows? Mama was creative and Daddy couldn’t keep up. Big LAUGH!!) So with a name holding the base word JOY, one would think I lived in perpetual joy because we are what we are called (please be careful when you name your children).
But I was, and then I wasn’t, and then I was, and then I wasn’t…but now I AM!!!!
When I finally convinced my husband to have baby number three (affectionately called Wiggle Bum or Wiggles pre-birth, but since named Mikah ‘the Prophet’ since…you know – the first baby born in Peebles maternity ward but I refuse to allow them to call him Mr. Peebles, LOL), I made him one simple promise: I would not be as mean as I was when I was pregnant with our daughter, our second child.
During the pregnancy of our second child, I was in constant nausea. Just felt awful for eight months. This constant state of blah made me grumpy. My ever-so-loving hubby took it in stride! He gave me grace and mercy because our first pregnancy was a breeze. Nothing to complain about really, but the second one….whew! It had all of my relationships on the ropes. And thankfully, dear hubby knew there was still good in me. Keiyia was in there somewhere and in a few months, it will be over.
With number three, my Wiggles had me in constant hip pain from about six weeks in, but I never complained. And not only that, I was sick all over the place. On the way out the door…got to clean up first. Driving around town…pull over quick. Here, there, everywhere. ‘Pieces’ of me were all over the place. (Would you prefer I use the word vomit?)
And this was the year of our 10th anniversary! Constantly sick. Hip feeling like it’s about to fall off (let’s not even mention the other pains that sometimes comes with pregnancy). And we are off to explore the world in celebration of this milestone.
Walking the streets of Florence, Italy (hardly anyplace to drive in this area, so walking miles upon miles is how we got around), dragging my leg, feeling a little nauseous and craving lobster but I never complained. Sightseeing in the nights in Paris; not one complaint. And boy was I in pain. (I used to jokingly say I was too ‘old’ to have any more babies.) So with this kind of pain, the only thing one can do is pray!
So I prayed. I prayed for joy and peace! Daily. Day in and day out. And I fixed my mind to remain there. Nothing (not much) shook me. And when ‘life’ decided to throw me a curve ball or ‘people’ tried to wiggle their snakes in my face, I reminded myself that I was carrying a special gift, and I prayed.
Fast forward…and Mikah ‘the Prophet’ was born. And while I, for the most part, kept my end of the bargain with Rick, my joy and peace remained. It was consistent. My husband would look at me like I was crazy. He’d even said I’d become nonchalant again. But in actuality, I just didn’t let things bother me. I was in a new bliss filled with joy and peace. Not much got to me.
And I began to say my little Mikah was the reason I remained so joyful. But one day it hit me: if I prayed for joy and peace daily, I was probably in this blissful state because I prayed for joy and peace daily! (Cocks head to the right.) Who’d have thunk it? (Translation – who would have thought that…?) Immediately I was reminded of the Word that says “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (John 14: 16-17 KJV).
So if the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) lives in me and with the Holy Spirit come the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance), then I automatically have joy and peace. Through prayer, I was granted access to more of it, simply because I asked for more. And with this revelation, my prayer changed from give me… to thank you for the joy and peace that comes with having the Holy Spirit in me. Through faith (a fruit and a gift of the Holy Spirit), I remain in constant joy.
Faith is a BIG step but without it, how can you ever have hope? How can you ever dream? Look forward to anything? The Word says if you have a mustard seed of faith, it will happen (Matthew 17:20). Do you know how tiny a mustard seed is? Do you know how HUGE these trees grow?
Without this faith, how can you live in continuous joy? Not happiness. Happiness is a state of mind; it comes and goes. But joy is a continuous thing. It never leaves. You can always see the bright side of every situation.
You may be going through something now, but you are coming out! The saying that trouble doesn’t last always is not a cliché. It doesn’t last always. Go through the process, for a brighter, greater day is coming! It’s right there! Hold on! It’s coming!
And this is how remaining in perfect joy helps you. It gives you a way out of every situation. You may not be happy, but the joy remains. You may not be able to see what you hope for, but through faith, joy remains.
With this joy, your life will begin to make a positive turn. It will leak out on to other people. They will began to look at things a little different. Through this tiny seed of joy, your tree has become as great as a mustard tree. Starting out small but growing into something massive.
I’ll leave you with these lyrics:
Every man falls down
Everyone needs grace
Your love is enough now
By Your name we’re saved
Looked beyond our wrong
Saw just what we need
We are alive now
By Your name we’re free
You got up so I could get up again
Now I’m up again with You
You got up so I could get up again
You got up so I could get up again
(Lyrics from Travis Green’s You Got Up)
The Resurrection and Passover seasons have just completed…but He got up. And you can too. Everyone falls, but don’t stay there. Everyone needs grace, so extend it. When you find Him, you have it ALL. Through Him, we were saved, provided for, are alive, and are FREE! He got up!! Lift your head. He got up and you can too!
I’ll be writing more and more about this joy and living in bliss. Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook (@justmekjg_com). Also read more at www.justmekjg.com
