Counting It All As Joy

How annoying is it when things don't work out? Or when reality doesn't quite meet your plan? It's hugely frustrating and disheartening. I speak from experience and say that no one ever thinks that it won't work out when you are so excited for the opportunity in front of you. But sometimes, it just doesn't.

Psalm 30:5 says "The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter", and I honestly cannot express the reality of this enough. When things don't go to plan or when things go wrong, there will be pain, hurt and I'm sure plenty of tears, but when that season is over, laughter and joy come. There is a quote that goes something along the lines of 'only in the darkest night can you see the brightest of stars', meaning that in our darkest or most challenging times, is where we learn to grow, to let go of baggage, and to step into the glory of a good God, where we can live in joy, laughter and goodness. 

People often say that God's plans are greater than our dreams, and I have only recently learnt what this means. Whatever we plan and whatever we strive for, God can out do us a hundred times over. Goodness is the breath of God, and as his children, he just wants to lavish love and goodness on ALL the days of our lives, and if that means that we have a season of pain then so be it, because when you walk through to the other side you will see life not from your eyes but through the eyes of a loving father. Life is quite like a tapestry, we only see the messy knots and tangled threads of the back, but God sees the full picture, in all its beauty and glory, and it's time we started to truly believe that God's plans really are greater than our dreams. 

To be quite frank, I have no idea what I want to do in life, what I'll be doing this time next year, or what career path I want to take, but I know that if I chase God each day and trust in his timing, then my life will always be full of joy because that is what follows each trial. Don't be disheartened, God doesn't say it'll be easy, but know that what he has planned for your life, will always exceed what you have dreamed.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11. 

He's got your back.

J

Fierce, unconditional and relentless. But do you really know it?

Thought that I would jump the gun and just tell you what gets my heart more than anything. It's something everyone knows about, everyone talks about, and deep down something that everyone is created to want, feel and give. LOVE. 

Now, I don't know about you, but I hear the word 'love' being thrown around a lot. 'Ahh I love that', 'yeah I love you bro', 'I'm so in love', the list is endless. But I want to talk about a different kind of love, a life changing love. Now if you're reading this and thinking that I'm going to be talking about a guy that's captured my heart over summer, then I'll tell you that I am not about to spill the beans of my love life, instead I'm going to tell you about the love of father God, the love of his only son, and the love of the Holy Spirit. 

So let me set the scene. I have the most incredible, supportive and encouraging family who love me in every situation, in every condition and without fail show me love every day. I also have a pretty incredible network of friends who daily show me love and teach me what it means to love, and how to give it out. Now, I'd say I am deeply moved and challenged by my friends and family as they push new levels of love each day. That love is pretty powerful and incredible right? 

Now I want to take it that little bit further and say, if that is what earthly love is like, where my heart blossoms and jumps when they build me up and show me love, imagine what HEAVENLY love is like! I don't want to put a box around it because it's just simply too beautiful to even begin to describe the extent. But here's a few words I'd use; fierce, unconditional and relentless. 

Our Heavenly Father, papa G, daddy God, whatever you like to call him has FIERCE love for us. I mean he's constantly fighting a spiritual war, just so he can spend eternity with his creation. Even the ones that don't yet love him back, he calls us home to him, and greets us with adoration and embrace. To fight for a people that can't even love him equally as he loves us is pretty darn fierce I'd say! 

Jesus, the one and only Son of God, hung on a wooden cross, with nails through his flesh, blood dripping from the spear wound in his side, and a crown of thorns shredding his scalp, just so that you could be loved by an UNCONDITIONAL love is pretty breath taking right? An extremely unjust, painful and bloody death, just so that he could love on you unconditionally. Leaves me pretty wrecked to think that someone would do that for a sinner, a broken person, me. 

The Holy Spirit, well heck, it just doesn't know how to leave us. It is RELENTLESS in its pursuit to constantly be around us, constantly showing us love, and constantly bring and being the love we need. The Holy Spirit is in us and never leaves us, and is relentless in all of its ways in loving us.

Isaiah 62:5 says, 'As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you'. The happiness and love I see at weddings is only an earthly glimpse of the happiness and love we get from God. 

Catherynne M. Valente once said, “After love, no one is what they were before". And you know what, it's true. When you experience and feel that fierce, unconditional and relentless love that the living God has for you, you'll be forever changed. So I leave you by asking one question, what's the harm in letting in a love like that? 

J