Maneuvers - No. 2
Your Source
of Joy
There’s something so beautiful about joy, isn’t there? Yes, it feels good. But its beauty runs so much deeper than our feelings.
When we (Jennifer and Justin) have that kind of joy, we can’t help but sense how close God is. Could it be that joy is so beautiful because it gives us a glimpse at the One who created it?
We think so. There’s nothing quite as exhilarating as delighting in our heavenly Father and everything he’s created. And the deeper we go in relationship with him, the more joy we find.
But sometimes that joy feels so far away, doesn’t it? We’ve been there, too. We’ve felt the pain of disappointment, heartache, and struggle. Those trials that try to pull our attention away from our Father.
If that’s where you find yourself today, then we invite you to join us in hearing from God’s heart.
Will you come with us as we rediscover Holy Spirit’s joy? Let’s listen together…
01.
The Message
Where is joy in your heart? Can you see it? Can you feel it? It is okay if it feels far away, like something difficult to grasp right now. But I know it hurts a bit for you to not feel you have it. And you want it, don’t you? You want joy to fill you, cover you, guide you and lead you through your days?
Can you trust joy? Do you want to?
What does joy look like and feel like, you wonder? Is it children sledding down a hill in the snow and laughing and playing and delighting in the magic of flying without control? Is it running barefoot in morning summer grass, your toes kissing soft earth and the sun just warming your face? Is it freedom? Is it laughter? Is it forgetfulness of problems? Is it ignorance? Is it not being lonely and loved for who you are without doing a thing?
What is joy—how would you describe it—if you could see it, hold it in your hands?
Really. Picture it now. Let yourself imagine joy. Pause here. Breathe. Close your eyes for a moment. What is joy?
What you easily forget is that joy is not found outside you. It is not something to grasp or hold. Something to acquire. It isn't even something merely to experience. It is something to be, to inhabit, to know. For you have it. Within you now. You have always had it. It just might need to be discovered and appreciated. Joy is your inheritance. It is me. Which makes it, also, who you are.
Because I am joy, joy is everywhere I am. Joy comes from me. What you see on earth, in laughter, in smiles, in kindness, in generosity, in fun, in connection, are examples of the effect of joy. But joy is love within you. Joy is me.
You are doubting this? Because joy feels elusive? Because right now, you aren’t sure you have it? I know that when you don’t feel joy, you can easily doubt its existence. For you want your behavior, your mood, to match it. The problem is this: joy isn’t always easy. It isn’t always calm and light and carefree.
Sometimes joy is hardfought. It is discovered and claimed after comparison and envy try to steal it. Sometimes, when competition leads to striving, and you don’t feel good enough, joy is misplaced and must be returned to you. Sometimes, when you look past the gifts I have given you and you want the life of someone else—you ignore joy available to you, the joy inviting you to freedom and hope and peace. Right here. Right now. I give you joy. I am always available to you. I am always here.
To inhabit joy, choose to surrender to it—a surrender that might take the hard work of dying to false ideas about what joy is and what joy is not. Keep your eyes on me. Breathe deeply of my love for you. Drink and drink of my goodness. My love for you is joy. Feel that. Be that. I delight in you. You make me feel joy.
02.
Listen
This week’s message touches on the true source of our joy, and it’s not what the world says it is. Money, admiration, romance, and even family can’t fully satisfy us. The incredible gifts God gives us are empty if we’re not looking to the right source. But Holy Spirit is reaching out to us today, offering a lasting joy that’s well within our reach at all times. He’s offering us more of himself.
What line in this week’s message spoke most strongly to your heart? What do you want to say to God in response?
03.
Think
“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature” (John 15:11, MSG).
1. Sometimes we fall for the lie that God’s promises are true for everyone else but us. When have you felt that God’s joy seemed too good to be true?
2. When was the last time you felt full of joy by being with our heavenly Father? What was it like? Get out your journal and record your memories of that experience. What did he say to you? How did you feel? How did that experience change you?
3. What might be blocking you from reaching out and receiving joy from Holy Spirit right now?
04.
Trust
Let’s look at the Scripture verse from the last section again:
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11, ESV).
Jesus said these words to his disciples right after teaching them about abiding in him. He used the metaphor of a vine and a branch… The branch can’t produce fruit, much less survive, unless it stays connected to the vine. The moment it disconnects from the vine is the moment it loses its source of life.
Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. As we stay connected to him, we have 24/7 access to his life… and lasting joy.
Let’s return to Question 3… what blocks us from receiving that joy? Do we get distracted with busyness? Tempted by pleasures or comforts we know aren’t good for us? Obsessed with our own failures to the point that we lose sight of grace?
Whatever it is, the answer is the same: connect with the Vine. This isn’t a formula. It’s a relationship. As we move deeper into that relationship, we find out just how wildly he loves us. And love is what reawakens our joy.
Right now, our Father is calling us deeper. Will you join us in responding to that call? If so, find a quiet spot where you can be alone with him.
Breathe deep. Feel his love all around you. Open your hands and release all those things that are holding you back, blocking his peace. Breathe again… and again. Wait for his joy to wash over you.
In this place of surrender, let’s pray…
05.
Pray
Father, you are so good. You’re so pure, so honest, so kind to me. When I come to you, broken and insecure, frustrated and overwhelmed, you never reject me. You welcome me into your presence… so pure.
I love your presence. Have I told you that lately? I love feeling you all around me, burning in my heart. Your love feels like a fire in my chest, and I never want it to stop.
Right here, in this moment with you, I’m happy. I can taste your joy, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever known.
Jesus, you are my joy. Show me just how much you love me so that I never lose sight of your joy.
Take me deeper. Take these open hands, take my open ears, and speak whatever you want to say. My heart is yours. Here I am. I love you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Waving the banner with you,
