Monday Morning Memo: When Joy is Gone

This isn’t the blog post I wanted to write…so I wrote one that was much more “comfortable” for me.  But as always…when I don’t listen to the Holy Spirit…I don’t have peace.

 

The Holy Spirit had been working on me all day…telling me that I needed to be honest with our small group that evening.  They were coming to our home for dinner and then we would have our study together, followed by a time of prayer.  I knew I needed to tell them what I was struggling with…but admitting how I was feeling wasn’t going to be easy.  Why?  Because I’m a Christian for Pete’s sake…and I should know better 

 

They came and we ate together, completed our time of study and prayer, and I still hadn’t opened up.  Then the question came, “LuAnn, how are you really doing?”  As a Christian, I knew my response should be that I am trusting the Lord…putting my faith in Him…and singing Kum Ba Yah with a huge smile on my face.  But unfortunately, that felt very far from the truth.  I was struggling…not just physically…but especially spiritually.  I admitted to them that my joy had vanished, even though I knew that the Lord didn’t expect me to always be happy about what I was going through…but I was to have joy.  James 1:2-3 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”  Yes, I knew I should still have the joy of the Lord so that others could see Him in me…but after 3+ years of dealing with serious health issues, I just wasn’t feeling it.

 

They let me talk.  They let me share without immediately coming down on me, berating me that I should just have faith and trust in the Lord.  At that point, I knew all the Christian “jargon” …I just needed to be heard.  They assured me they would be praying and they told Dan and I to lean on them whenever we needed them. 

 

We had finished our study that evening of the book, “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table” by Louie Giglio and he gave seven truths at the end that we should dwell on.  He said we could take one a day or even one a week to pray about and focus on.  The first one said this:

 

1.   I am in God’s story.

The story of who you are is part of God’s larger story.  The story is bigger than you.  Ultimately, the story is not about you.  You have been invited into the story of God’s great glory and grace.  It’s all about Him.  But you have a seat at His table.

 

Before you were formed in your mother’s womb, God knew you.  Jesus the good Shepherd guides you always, and the Lord makes firm the steps of those who delight in Him (Psalm 37:23).

 

So plant this thought in your mind by memorizing this verse, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

 

You matter to God.  But ultimate meaning won’t come from putting the spotlight on you.  Your life will have the greatest significance when you choose to make it about the One who welcomes you into His never-ending story.

 

For the next 10 days, I read this truth multiple times a day.  With each reading, I felt the Holy Spirit speaking and I started to feel the extreme heaviness begin to lift.  I needed to be reminded that first of all…life isn’t about me and my comfort.  You see, Satan knows that if he can get my focus off Jesus and on myself…joy will never come.  Life is about my Jesus and everything which happens to me has been allowed by my Heavenly Father and His plans are to give me hope and a future that will bring Him glory. 

 

My Jesus cares about me.  He knew me before I was even formed…and His plans will always be better than mine. If I am going to truly reflect His image…I need to be willing to be a participant in HIS story…not mine.

 

If I’m honest…I still can’t say I feel joy all day, every day…but I’m improving.  Thank goodness our Lord is patient…because I am definitely a work in progress.  I’m so thankful that He loves me more than I can imagine…but wants so much more for me in the days to come.

 

How about you?  Are you feeling like you’ve lost the joy that only He can give?  I won’t throw the Christian jargon at you…because I’m guessing you already know it, just like me.  But I do want to encourage you to read…and re-read…the truth I shared with you today.  Allow Him to speak to you as He holds you close to Him.

 

By the way, you may want to say a prayer for me.  The 2nd truth that Giglio shared begins with “I am fearfully and wonderfully made”.  Oh boy…I thought the first truth was hard to accept…I think this one may be even harder!