2018 Special Holiday Edition
5
SPIRIT GOT
BY TOSHA J. BROWN
I
look forward to the holiday season each
year. For me it is full of love, friends
and family, and most of all fellowship,
but for some it can be a time full of sadness
and emotional barriers, that keep you from
experiencing the joy of what this season
represents. I can admit it is a challenge, with
the hustle and bustle of planning, the reality
of lost love ones, shopping for gifts, fi ghting
through those long lines, holiday gatherings,
and those ringing bells of excitement, that
lead to false expectations of what the world
defi nes as the holiday season and what should
bring you joy. When focused on those false
interpretations of joy, it can cause you to
become frustrated and miss out on the joy
that we as believers are free to experience
GOD HAS GIVEN EACH BELIEVER THE
ABILITY TO RECEIVE AND LIVE IN
ABUNDANT JOY EACH DAY
The good news is that God has given each
believer the ability to receive and live in
abundant joy each day, through the work
done by the Holy Spirit in our lives… and Him
equipping us with the very fruit required to
experience joy (Galatians 5:22). Biblical joy
is a word that expresses exceeding gladness
or rejoicing and it applies to the disposition
of our heart. It is usually associated with the
people of God, who celebrate God’s blessing
at a number of occasions- feasts, victories in
battle, the entrance of a new king, and we are
encouraged to serve God with joy, so that we
would not lose out on the blessings of God
(Deut. 28:47).
The best display of joy in the Word of God
is the dramatic announcement of the greatest
king to be born on this earth…the birth
announcement of Jesus! In Luke 2:10 the
angel declares,” Do not be afraid, for behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy which
will be to all people. For there is born to you
this day in the city of David a Savior, who is
Christ the Lord.” Hallelujah! In essence, the
angel said, come and see the gift that I have
for you from God. It is a gift of joy for the
entire world. I bring you Jesus, the Savior of
the world and all you have to do is open the
package and receive it. Therefore, we can
see it is the will of God that we receive and
experience joy.
Let me share with you a few practical
steps of how we as believers can continue to
operate in joy.
Joy?
L
et me share with you a few practical steps
of how we as believers can continue to
operate in joy.
STAY IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD
The Bible teaches us that in the presence of
the Lord there is “fullness of joy” (Psalms 16:11).
When we spend time with the Father in prayer,
praise and worship, and studying His Word, we
experience God’s fullness. When we concentrate
on pleasing God we have no time to be unhappy
and sad. His presence alone is liberating and
when we spend enough time with Him we
experience joy.
CHOOSE GOD’S SYSTEM AND NOT THE
WORLD’S SYSTEM.
The world’s standard of joy is temporal and
based on circumstances and conditioned by how
you feel. The problem with this type of joy is that
if external conditions change, your joy changes
with it. This is not God’s best for you! God
declares that every good and perfect gift comes
from Him (James 1:17), and that He will never
leave you, nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). The
Apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 12:1-2, that
instead of being molded by this world, we as
believers should be transformed by the renewing
of the mind. Living by God’s way requires a
spiritual transformation, which starts in the heart
and mind. A mind dedicated to the world and
its concerns, will produce a life tossed back and
forth by the currents of culture; never being able
to experience joy. But a mind dedicated to God’s
truth will produce a life full of joy.
MAKE SURE WE STAY FOCUSED ON THE
TRUE MEANING OF JOY
As the people of God we have to resolve in
our hearts the true meaning of this time of year,
so that we will not uphold the world’s standards
of joy, which will only leave us empty and left
with a false sense of joy. We can take up the
cause of this world and wrap ourselves in
a false security blanket of joy, or we can
choose to receive our gift of joy that God
has appropriated for each of us. Our focus
should always be on Jesus and His birth into
this world as our Savior.
DON’T ALLOW YOUR FEELINGS OR
SATAN TO CAUSE YOU TO RETREAT. STAY
IN CONSTANT FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHER
BELIEVERS
The bait of Satan is to trick you to believe
your emotions and lock you out of God’s
best. He wants you depressed, unhappy,
and focused on your circumstances and
conditions long enough that he can lure you
out of the presence of God. He is counting
on you to babysit your feelings and sulk in
your emotions. When we take our focus off
of God, we back out of true fellowship with
God; and with other believers and then Satan
seeks, roars, and attacks (1Peter 5:8-9). As
believers, we must operate on the truth of
God’s Word and not on our emotions. When
we fellowship with other believers we draw
upon them for strength and encouragement
(Nehemiah 8:10).
SEARCH OUT IN YOUR HEART WHAT
BRINGS YOU JOY AND DO IT!
God takes great pleasure in your joy. He
says that He will give you the desires of your
heart. If you like reading… you should read.
For me, I love making jewelry … so I make
jewelry. Whatever God has given you desire
to do, glorify God and do it (Psalms 21:1-2).
During this season, I encourage you to
unwrap your Gift of Joy and walk out each
day with its benefi ts and blessings.