Day 7: Joy

James 1:2-4 
2 Consider it nothing but JOY my [a]brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. 3 Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.

1 Chronicles 16:26-27
For all the gods of the people are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him: strength and JOY are in his place.

Do you want REAL JOY in your life today? 
The bible tells us that we only find real joy and peace in Him. The Pharisees were a good example in the bible when they fasted and prayed they displayed themselves in public by acts of suffering and dread and let everyone know they were fasting even tearing their garments.  Some people of the western church today are acting the same way.  When we fast we walk around with bad attitudes and feel sorry for ourselves for having to give up our pleasures and idols that bring us a counterfeit of JOY and pleasure, like food, alcohol and drug addiction, porn and sexual desires and behaviors etc…

All along God is saying to us “No! Im trying to give you REAL JOY!”

but you will not find it in other lovers. The void is endless and temporary. God’s Joy is permanent. We must get to the place of finding JOY in our act of obedience,  not just to tolerate.

Romans 5:1 essentially says “No Jesus, No peace”, or you could say “Know Jesus, Know Peace”

And Nehemiah 8:1-3 reminds us that hearing the word of God is an occasion for JOY, not sorrow and regret.

The Joy of the Lord is our strength!