Medicine of joy

I gave a lady a prophetic word at the beginning of the year that joy would take her through the year. She was excited about this word. This got me pondering on how powerful joy is. It is like fuel; gas empowering a car to go the distance. It has an energy of its own; it will plow through to get to where you need to go. Joy is like no other emotion. It is a state of being. It fills you up. It resides and abides. It takes over every unction of you. It sets the stage for your next day, next meeting, next encounter with whomever. If you are joyful, it will show. You cannot hide it. Joy is the opposite of depression, as depression is also a state of being. It takes resident also. It determines relationships, perceptions and attitudes too. Depression eats away, while joy empowers. They are different; polar opposites.

Psalm 30:5 says For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime, weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

This scripture instills the norm that there is night and morning, and we have to know how to transition from the night to the morning. We cannot stay in the night season. It is true that the night will come, because we are living beings and things happen. Yes, marriages break up, families break apart, people sadly do die, we lose jobs, we suffer poor health, we fall out of friendship with our friends, people treat us unfairly, etc. And so yes, we have nights. Prayerfully, this should not be a dwelling state of being; hopefully not perpetual. Psalm 30:5 says “joy comes in the morning”. Upon reflection of what the Lord spoke to that lady, I see that the Lord in His mercy and goodness was reminding her of the morning, and that she should always transition. We are the better for being in control of this, because the enemy will bring a flood and we have to receive the standard of God to transition according to Isaiah 59:19.

I fixate my heart on Psalm 16:8 which says: I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices, my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

You have to fixate your heart on God like David did, otherwise you will fixate your eyes on the night. The night can be terrible, because everything is dark and there is no hope often at night. But we know that God is a God of hope, a God of light, a God of peace, a God of wealth. He is opposite to depression. He is opposite to “night.” His state is goodness. We have to come to God’s state. He will bring us to His state, no matter what the night could have been. God will bring us to His state. David, in the above scripture says he keeps his eyes on God, and KNOWS that God is at his right hand. God is at your right hand. Think about it, because you are sure that God is at your right hand, you feel secure, your heart is gladdened, your tongue rejoices, and your body rests. As your body rests, you receive the joy of God. It is that very joy of God that then strengthens you.

Hence you have to do 2 things to transition from night to morning. First, you have to take your eyes off the night, and second, you have to believe and know that God is faithful and He sits at your right hand. If you do these 2 things, then you will be joyful in 2020. Being joyful is a state of being; a state of mind; and it can embody your perception and the decisions you make. In fact it could not only be your state, it could become infectious and become the state of your home, colleagues at work, friends, etc. If your decisions are guided by a heart that is filled with the joy of God, then you will be healthy and make wealth. And why? Because God is a God of good health and wealth. There might be some schisms out there who might say to you “well I have the joy of the Lord and nothing is working”. Please rise above this and get with the promise of God. I encourage you to make a decision to approach life differently after the “night”.

Linda Faith
Linda is a prolific writer. Her body of work includes inspiring poems, fictional books, and Christian living empowering books. You can find her work on www.amazon.com. Linda is also the pioneer of Joy Women, a platform she employs to inspire women all over the world to be all God has destined them to be. Read more about Linda at www.lindafaith.org.