Find Joy in the Journey

I want to dig into the words JOY and JOURNEY. What do they mean and how can we find joy in the journey of life.

JOY😁 One definition online said: "Joy is an emotion that’s acquired by the anticipation, or even expectation of something great or wonderful."

We need to anticipate that God will bring something good to us. We all have times in our life where things are good, when we have something exciting happen, or we have something to look forward to. We need to fully embrace those moments and cherish them because life is hard at times. Joy does not come from ourselves it is a gift of God.

“The joy of the LORD is your strength” -Nehemiah 8:10

Joy is our strength because we need joy in our lives. It carries us through the hard times because we know that hardship won't last forever. Joy will come again.

"Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." -Psalm 30:5

JOURNEY 🗺 One definition online said: "When you travel from one place to another, especially when there is a long distance between the places."

It can also refer to our growth as christians. When we grow we go from a place of thinking or acting to a better one. We change and transition, we go from one place to another, and that is a journey. 

Every part of our life is a stop or a place on the way to our destination. Heaven, that is our final destination. But while we are on this earth we may have to walk some hard roads, but we are not on this journey alone and we don't have to rely on ourselves.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight". -Proverbs 3:5-6

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." -Psalm 23:4

When we rely on his understanding of what we go through, we know there is purpose and he will lead us. He is a God of all knowledge. We will walk through hard times but he is our strength and he is is with us. We know he is faithful, we know he has a good plan for us, we just need to trust him. 

In conclusion: 

-Joy is a gift from God

-We need to enjoy and cherish moments of Joy.  

-Life is hard but God is with us.

-Heaven is our final destination 

-Trust him, he is FAITHFUL