There Is Strength In Joy

There is strength in joy. I’ve tapped into it. I’ve discovered it. I’ve relished in the knowing that joy is what gives me my courage and my strength in times when I should otherwise feel so weak.

I love knowing that I’m feeling peaceful and strong despite trying circumstances because of joy that comes only from relying on and having true faith in my Savior.

It’s freeing.

I’m not always there. I don’t always sit in that knowledge or feel that joy. There are times when I try to rely on my own strength, my own control, and my own direction. I never feel as strong in those moments as I do when I know God’s strength is being funneled through me. No, my own strength never feels quite as solid.

There is an old song that starts, ‘The joy of the Lord is my strength.” And that song runs round and round in my head from time to time. The words – so simple – yet so powerful and true.

I see joy in the person who has cancer and yet glows. I know that they have tapped into that strength.

I see joy in the person who has little in the way of monetary possessions, and yet smiles as if they have the world.

Joy.

It is something so elusive to people nowadays. Stern faces, frowns, and heartache abounds. It’s no wonder. Loneliness, depression, hurts, and trials know no bounds in our lives. They exist daily. And people are weary. Broken down. Discouraged.

And yet there it pops up in someone’s life from time to time. We glimpse it. That charming quality of joy. We wonder how we can gain a little bit of it for ourselves. How can we find that peace and strength that comes out in joy like the one we see before us?

I’m here to tell you. It’s God. ALL God.

And it’s yours for the asking.