Joy.. All The Time

Recently, I've been going through 1 Thessalonians and not simply reading it, but studying a bit deeper into things than I normally do. As you read along, there is this overarching theme that is spoken about - the steadfast faithfulness of the believers in Thessalonica. If you go back to Acts 17, you see that the believers in Thessalonica and Paul and Silas who had been sharing the Gospel there, began to face severe persecution. Throughout all of the suffering, the Thessalonians stayed faithful to God. We see in Thessalonians 1:6, Paul and Silas saying that the believers there "had become imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the Word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit" (ESV).

I can only speak for myself, but I STRUGGLE with being joyful amidst any form of hardship sometimes. There have been times where I am exuding joy no matter what is going on, and there are oftentimes that I forget the word "joy" even exists. As I've been going through Thessalonians, I have constantly felt Holy Spirit convicting me and guiding me of having joy throughout my day. I have faced persecution before but very little. I have never faced affliction like many have and do such as the Thessalonian believers, Paul, and Silas did. I have been through some very hard things in life, but lately, the hardest things I go through are nothing compared to what I have gone through in my past and what many others do in this world on a daily basis... yet.. here I am struggling to show the joy and peace I have within. How dare I. That is the least I can do for God after all the beautiful and miraculous blessings He has given me. I could stop the blog post there. I feel the guilt just typing this out, but I have more that Holy Spirit is telling me to say.

Firstly, I am fully aware of my human nature, and I am also just as aware of God's compassion toward me because of my human nature and His love for me. I know that God sees me, hears me, and has grace for me. Because of this, I give myself grace for my downfalls. You should too. What that doesn't mean is that we should sit in that and not do better next time.

Remember above when I said that "there have been times where I am exuding joy no matter what is going on"? Well, not only is the Spirit great at pointing out our flaws, but He's also equally amazing at revealing to us how to do better next time. Why? Because He loves us, and He wants to glorify the Father, further growing and strengthening His Kingdom. He has reminded me of all the times I have shown faithfulness and joy no matter the circumstances of the day. My very best friend died in 2015 - my grandpa, and through that, I was one of the most at peace and joyful people around. How? Well, I'm so glad you asked. 1 Thessalonians 1:6 says "with joy of the Holy Spirit". There's how. When we live our lives simply seeking to be filled with the Spirit (listening to God's voice through the Spirit, living by Jesus' character, and living by God's principles that we learn about in the Bible) every moment of the day, then we will experience this peace and joy like so many others do and have.

This is not easy, but it starts with us being intentional about hanging out with God every day, becoming more familiar with His Word, His principles, and His characteristics. It begins with us stopping in the moments we start to grumble and complain and instead, praying that the Spirit would show us how to think and act in that moment. It starts with speaking truth over ourselves and the people around us. It begins with setting boundaries and guarding your heart and mind from things that trigger your sinful way of thinking and acting. None of us can do this without the strength we can receive from God Himself.

It's not easy, but it's essential to a peaceful life that leads others to the cross too. Remember that.

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