I’m one of these individuals who prays that God will reveal a phrase for me to meditate on for the subsequent yr. One yr, not too way back, on December 31, I sat and prayed for God to disclose to me which phrase I ought to give attention to for the new yr. What lens ought to I view the subsequent yr by?
The phrase God gave me was pleasure!
I used to be elated. What a incredible phrase! What a terrific lens by which to see life.
As I moved into January, it was straightforward to take a look at the world by the lens of pleasure. My life was great. It was a brand new yr with no errors in it—a contemporary, clear begin.
The yr was 2020. And come March when my world, like all of ours, was turned the wrong way up, I misplaced my footing. Again, in my prayer time, I heard “joy.” God nonetheless wished me to take a look at the world, my life, and my circumstances by this lens.
I seemed up each time the phrase pleasure is utilized in Scripture. It is utilized in usually stunning locations, like:
- “Your pain will turn into joy.” (John 16:20)
- “No one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:22)
- “During a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed.” (2 Corinthians 8:2)
- “Whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy.” (James 1:2)
Just as a result of the circumstances modified, the lens by which we view the circumstances shouldn’t. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Joy is a outcome of realizing God.
That yr of 2020 was good observe for instilling this lens of pleasure inside me. When issues received powerful, I refused to let go of pleasure.
Sometimes I needed to say aloud to myself, “Where can I find joy right in this moment?” In many ways in which was asking, “Where is God right now, in this moment?”
I found how a lot pleasure is said to gratitude. When I realized to see by that lens, issues didn’t appear as huge. I found the issues I assumed I had, weren’t issues in any respect. My view had turn into clouded by anxiousness.
With anxiousness changed by pleasure, we uncover we will deal with far more than we ever thought we might.
And then the phrases that I learn once I was seeking out pleasure in Scripture, “The joy of the LORD is your strength,” (Nehemiah 8:10) make excellent sense.
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My phrase this yr? Fearless.
With the pleasure of the Lord inside me, I’ve nothing to worry.