The joy of the Lord is your strength! How to rely on God for His joy in all circumstances

~ Children: Laugh approximately 300 to 400 times a day.
~ Adults: Laugh between 15 and 20 times a day, with some sources suggesting an average as low as 4 times a day. 

As a child we are closer to how God designed us to be, but slowly the broken world can take away our joy. But let’s not let the evil prevail, we need to keep our eyes on the solution, which is Jesus.

In prayer I asked the Lord what makes Him laugh and I got a picture of children laughing and playing.

“But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Which has caused me to watch my kids more and it’s made me laugh more.

This is not to say your not ment to be sad or by grieving your not being a good Christian.

When Lazarus died-
“Then Jesus wept.”
‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭35‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus on the mount of olives before He goes to the cross-
“He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭44‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭AMP‬‬


“the joy of the Lord is your strength!””
‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The word "happy" originates from the Middle English word "hap," which meant "chance," "luck," or "fortune". Initially, to be "happy" meant to be fortunate or lucky, a meaning the word still retains in phrases like "happy accident". Like happenstance. (It’s relying on what’s happening or circumstances)

While the word Joy from it’s original Latin roots-
Latin: The Latin noun gaudium comes from the verb gaudēre, meaning "to be glad" or "to rejoice". (It’s not reliant on our circumstance, more a part of who we are)

“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song,”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭149‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Even if you don’t feel like it, give a sacrifice of praise. If you’re singing along, you can’t get stuck in your thoughts. There’s power in praise.

“And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭8‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Jesus shows that praise and strength go together. The enemy can’t lie to you while you are singing praise.

Jesus said-
“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭17‬:‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We grow spiritually when we’ve traveled through the hard times.

We need to take control of our thoughts, my mum showed me an example, try counting to 10 then in the middle of it say your name out load, you’ve stoped counting. So instead speak out God’s promises related to the problem, then its replacing the thought spiral.

I pray that helps encourage you today! Thank you for taking the time to watch, comment, subscribe or share, your support helps get the good news out there. Naomi x