Dear Fellow Christian,
It took me a long time to learn that joy is a weapon.
My understanding of joy was you slap a smile on your face and pretend everything's good.
But after many years of "faking it till I make it," pretending I was joyful when inside I was hurting and in pain...I came to a breaking point.
I remember one night, I was depressed, heartbroken, wondering how I got here and if the Lord saw me. In desperation I cried out to Him with tears streaming down my face...
As I did, I felt the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit to ask what He wanted me to know right then...
I asked, and suddenly saw the Father's warm, loving face. He was laughing...hysterically laughing.
He wasn't laughing at me, he was laughing at the situation before me.
Immediately I burst into laughter myself. For a good hour I cracked up alone in my room, as the Lord started to show me how small my worries, fears and concerns were compared to how faithful, loving and kind He was.
It wasn't that He didn't care or didn't see, but He had so much more for me if I'd only lift my eyes and start to see things from His perspective.
I felt the heaviness I had been under slowly start to melt. The depression I carried inside gave way as I received the joy and delight of my Father over me. I felt a new strength I hadn't felt before. I was learning what it looked like to fight with the weapon of joy.
In John 16:33, Jesus tells the disciples, "These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulattion; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
The word "tribulation" in this verse means "pressures, trials, distress, and frustration."
Do you have any pressure in your life?
Are you experiencing a trial, distress or frustration?
The Lord is giving us a secret to victory OVER tribulation in this verse...
The key is to REJOICE, to express JOY... not because you are experiencing a problem, but because you serve a Father who is bigger than ANY problem.
And as you learn to do that, the enemy will be defeated and the Father's freedom will reign in your life.
We each have a choice if we will take hold of this weapon of joy...
In this free 3 day challenge we are going to put this truth into action with activations and biblical teaching on walking out of past pain and hurt with the weapon of joy.
Join us as we deep dive into receiving and walking in the joy of the Lord for ourselves and come away with tangible tools to move forward in His freedom today.
