Introduction

Quite a few years ago, my wife and I were faced with a dreadfully painful situation. We prayed, sought God’s help and, although there were days when things looked impossible, we came through it, and we praised God for His faithfulness. I couldn’t help but wonder what had brought about the need to walk through that trial, but I did know, without doubt, that my relationship with God grew in a truly profound way. I also realized I had some repenting to do, and there were things I needed to be much more careful about never taking for granted, but the main outcome was that while I had known and walked with God in a very real way, I began to cherish my relationship with Him even more intensely. So, while I never wanted to have to walk through anything like that again, I knew I had grown in God through it all.

In all the turmoil of that period, Psalm 103 became alive in my heart. I learned to purposefully take time—whatever I felt like—to bless and praise God. In the process, whenever I would meditate on this psalm and speak its incredible words of praise to my own soul, I never failed to find encouragement. I found myself being comforted by a supernatural joy that, despite difficulties that were without any solution I could bring to bear, sustained me, assured me of God’s love and faithfulness, and swept despair out of my heart.

Years later, I was alone in my car, with a long drive ahead of me. I began to think of that awful time, and I thanked God for bringing us through it. I thought about how the situation had impacted my spiritual life, and it was evident to me that I was still walking in the strength God had added to me. With tears rolling down my face and with actual fear and trembling, I told God that I never wanted to walk through a time of trial like that again, but what I wanted more, was to have Him work in me any way He wanted to, that I would go through anything He needed me to if it meant I could grow even closer to Him and to fulfilling His purposes in my life. What I was really saying was, “Lord, your will be done!”

At the time, other than perhaps some tragic accident or illness striking my loved ones, I couldn’t imagine anything worse happening than what we’d already walked through. How wrong I was! Our lives were turned upside down and I can’t begin to describe the sense of grief, heartache, and profound loss we had to walk through. As before, I turned to God’s Word for comfort and, suddenly, one word began to burn in my spirit and I saw it, practically blazing in neon lights everywhere I looked in Scripture. I saw God’s plan for JOY! Wherever His presence is, joy floods in, and even in the darkest, most insoluble of difficulties, we can experience “joy unspeakable and full of glory” poured out into our lives by the very hand of God!

This joy is something far beyond what we experience when things make us happy—this is something we can choose to partake in no matter what is happening around us. I don’t want to suggest that there is no pain, no grieving, no dark days when we simply don’t understand why these things are happening, but I can tell you this with absolute certainty—joy is yours for the asking, and it will be your strength because it is the “joy of the Lord,” a gift God will give to you that no one else can take from you. I may not always like the outcomes of things that happen in my world, but I can still choose to live with joy ringing in my spirit, no matter what else is happening or what evil schemes are being devised for me by others. God is faithful, we can never be separated from His love, and His joy is available to each of us—right now!

I pray you’ll be blessed and encouraged as you read these little thoughts over the next thirty days, and that what you’ll experience each day, and then every day afterwards, is access to the unlimited, irrepressible, never-failing, unshakeable joy God has for you!