Embracing Joy

Recently I have been listening to a worship album every day in the mornings and before I go to bed. I find that all the encouraging and true lyrics in all of these songs refresh me. I feel a genuine peace and joy throughout the day because I start and end each day like this. It is really important for me because it is how I can conquer and defeat any lie or thought the enemy wants me to worry over.

The only reason he wants that is because he is terrified of joy and what it does; for me and for all of us. Even if we are facing something hard, the joy of the Lord gives us strength to face every day with peace. There’s a song on the album, called Garments, and the chorus says this:

“You give me garments of praise, fullness of joy, unending mercy, new every morning…”

Because the ability to rejoice is a gift from God to us, something that we can be full of, it is so important that we take it. God wants us to wear praise like a big coat. That we do everything as an act of praise, no matter where we are in the day. God’s desire for us is also to have joy — real joy. Not temporary, but something supernatural, directly from heaven.

And that, that “fullness of joy” is as much a gift from God as praise. The ability to be actually happy, not just pretend to be. To be able to laugh and smile and be kind to others without a second thought.

As for His mercy, the kind that renews every day, no matter how badly I think I have screwed up…I don’t think I could ever be thankful enough for that.

God has so consistently shown me things, lead me to listen to songs, spoken to me through others and into my heart — I have no reason not to rejoice. I don’t always do it. Sometimes it becomes habit to just stew, and be scared that whatever is gnawing at me will never go away. That I’m going to be worried about it and bullied by it, for a long time.

But that isn’t true. That fear is a lie and has no place even being near my mind. and I’ve been given a Helper to silence it. I know that soon, choosing joy will become the habit. I will be able to look back and not even remember any cloud of worry, of self-doubt.

The only way to get out of my own head is to rejoice, to worship. Whatever I can do that is edifying in the Holy Spirit (to be honest, doing this, writing what is on my heart, is one thing I do) is what I choose to do.

Since it really blesses me a lot to listen to it every day, here is the song:

(Thanks, Dad, for helping me understand this)