THE SPIRIT IN YOU
Practical Ways to Obtain Joy
in Every Season
Article by Lama-Leah
Joy in all seasons can be challenging, however, with the direction of the Lord, He can help guide you to have joy and peace that is only found through Him. James 1:2-4 states “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Joy is a trait that can be contagious. These verses can be broken down into four main concepts that I am going to address and they are the following: joy, trials, perseverance, and ‘not lacking anything.’
There are many endless definitions of what joy is. I looked up the definition in the dictionary and the answer that I found was brief, and did not cover the biblical basis of what joy is. Out of curiosity, I asked several of my readers of my personal blog (lamaleah.com) how they consider joy and one answer that stands out the most to me is the following: “To me joy is more than happiness, but happiness is a component of joy. Joy also has a component of peace. There is that consistent assurance that God is on the throne and nothing will change that. The peace comes from the knowledge that the joy you ask is part of your inheritance. Our joy comes
"There is that consistent assurance that God
is on the throne
and nothing will
change that."
from the Lord and cannot be taken from us. We can be swindled by the Adversary out of it, but when we realize our mistakes, confess and repent of our sins, our joy comes right back. Often times it is sweeter and better than before.”
I am a believer who was once broken. I write to the broken because that is where my heart is. The blood of Jesus has an abundant amount of hope and I love sharing that same hope with others who are broken, whether that be through this column, my blog, or by simply pouring into others who seem that they are in need of hope. When I am doing ministry one-on-one I start with sharing parts of my own testimony. One question that others tend to ask me goes like the following, “Leah, you have been through so much, how are you able to obtain joy through it all?” My response is simple, “I haven’t been able to have joy, hope, or healing on my own; I have only been able to heal through my relationship with God,