The Joy of Yahweh

"His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’"    ~Matthew 25:23

We all know that this verse relates to our graduation to Heaven.  But like many verses in the Bible, this one can be taken both literally and symbolically, naturally and spiritually, personally and corporately.  God often inserts two meanings into what He says (Psalm 62:11).

See, we can enter into the joy of our Master know!  We may only experience a small measure of the joys of Heaven, but we can still experience Heaven on earth today.  And that's a prerequisite to our calling here and now.

"This day is holy to our Elohim. Do not grieve, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength."    

~Nehemiah 8:10

Living in Joy makes everything easier.  Hope gives us joy, and joy gives us strength from God!  I believe that the power of the Spirit actually gives tangible, physical strength and health.  There was a period of time last year where I was not eating a nutrient dense diet.  And every morning, when I went for a walk and sang to God, my legs became uncontrollably itchy.  They would tingle all over. I'd experienced that before--as a cyclist taking high-dose vitamin B tablets.  God was restoring my vitamins and minerals, and I felt it!  All this was possible because I made the effort of believing to enter His Joy.

Forgiveness, repentance, boldness--it's all made easier by joy.  If we have joy, our attempts to do things for God become a lot easier and a lot more fruitful.  Joy is restful because it increases our confidence in our Heavenly Father.

If we are in a state of really believing, then joy will be evident.  Remember that Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit convicts us of belief (John 16:8).  If we believe, then any thought about Jesus, any thought about His sacrifice, any thought about His plans for us will bring us joy! The reality of living in God has to become greater than anything else, so His Joy can our be our joy and His contentment our contentment.


What was the joy that Jesus had? Joy should not be confused with happiness. In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word happiness in connection with Him. The joy of Jesus was His absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice to His Father— the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do— “…who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2). “I delight to do Your will, O my God…” (Psalm 40:8). Jesus prayed that our joy might continue fulfilling itself until it becomes the same joy as His. Have I allowed Jesus Christ to introduce His joy to me?

~Oswald Chambers

In Yahweh's Presence is Fullness of Joy

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."                       Psalm 16:11

From the moment we've first believed, we've became aware of the presence of the Lord.  We're always in His presence.  We're always belonging in Him.  So why don't we always feel joyful?

It's because of our unbelief.  See, Jesus needs to be real to us right now, in 2 minutes, in 2 hours, and in 2 days.  He needs to be continually sanctified in our hearts (1 Peter 3:15)--continually adored.

Our work and our choice is to believe in Jesus (John 6:29).

Constant joy is real--it's not too good to be true!  We as believers accept the gospel, so we should also accept every piece of 'good news' that flows from it.

We can't give ourselves God's joy, but we can yield to it.  We can yield to the cleansing truth of the word.  We can yield to the hope of glory.  We can yield to the love of the Holy Spirit, and be joyful no matter what.

Snapshot: Victory

Recently I've heard a lot about victory.  This is what Jesus has earned for us...this is our inheritance in Him.  Victory is knowing that Jesus is Lord and King, and knowing that you have justification with Him.  Victory is being close enough to Him to know that all is well, drawn near enough to know that His Love remains.  Victory is total satisfaction, and it leaves us wanting nothing more than to remain with Him.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want"  Psalm 23:1

All we can do to have victory is to melt before Jesus.  All we can do is offer ourselves up and let Him carry us there.  God is taking us to victory.  Draw near to Him, draw closer, and He will take you there.  Blessed Victory.  Don't be satisfied with the past, the present, or your future.  Only desire closeness to Him.  You can have it right now.  You can be moved to tears of joy right now.  You can have a revelation of His Love right now.  So understand that He's saved you with an otherworldly Love, and put your hope in Him.

"Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore."  Psalm 131:3

We are spiritual Israel.  Glory to God!  Let's be taken to that place where we can be with Him.  He will take us there, and make us more like Him.  He is faithful to draw us near, and He is faithful to give us a hope that will not fade.  Come near to Him and believe in the Victory.  Believe that Jesus is still on the throne.  Look to Him, and hope that His deliverance is here.

Snapshot: When We Only Get Crumbs

The amplified version of John 1:16 says this:

For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.

It's almost too easy.  God lavishes us with gifts!  And He wants to be this generous with us.  The problem begins when we start to take Him for granted.  When we start to despise the "day of small things".  When we stop intently seeking Him because He's blessed us so much.  There is so much lost in spiritual plateau.

"When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me."  Hosea 13:6

Let's not get to this point.  Let's stay hungry for God.  Let's keep searching, keep seeking.  Today the Lord is saying, "Seek my Face".  Will you respond in obedience?

There comes a time when some will fall prey to distractions.  I've done it.  There comes a time when the enemy gets a stronghold and we lose our focus on Jesus.  What does God do then?  He alerts us!  He makes known to us our mistake, and withholds Himself just long enough for us to realize our own desperation for Him.  So we start to miss Him, so to speak, and then we begin seeking Him again.

We may start seeking Him, though, and only find crumbs (see Matthew 15:23 and on).  We may only receive spiritual milk.  We may not feel His presence like we did in the past.  And we may not have our hope fully restored--not right away at least.  There is a time for begging and wrestling with God.  The correct response is to be desperate for God

"Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me."  Psalm 142:6

Let's beg for His mercy, if we need to.  Let's plead for more than crumbs.  We have already entered into the fullness of God in Christ, but let's beg Him to allow us to live in this knowledge.  Even though we already have every spiritual blessing, let's eagerly desire the spiritual gifts that He holds out for our taking (1 Corinthians 12:31).  It is by faith in Jesus that we take hold of all of our heavenly inheritance. It is by faith in His unveiled character that we realize we can wrestle with God.

Confirmed:  Yesterday I was listening to Christian radio and I overheard the story of the Canaanite women who insisted that the Lord at least give her the crumbs.  Didn't she have great faith?  It was this faith that pleased God.  When we have faith, we can ask for more.  We don't have to settle for just crumbs!  If we are reckless in our trust towards Him, it will be done as we wish.  Wigglesworth said, "Asking is receiving."  Glory to God!

Confirmed:  I was talking with Vanessa today about wrestling with God, and when it is appropriate to really plead with Him.  She, too, had heard the story of the Canaanite women yesterday, except she read it in the Word.

Let's come to God with a boldness and empowerment by His Spirit.  Let's come with pure hearts and trust that He has allowed us to stand before Him.  He has made us clean!  He wants our future to be prosperous, and He wants us to be fed with the finest of spiritual foods.  Let's believe what Jude 1:24 says.  Let's believe it and act on it!

"Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault."

"Grin and Bear It"

Two days ago, I was struggling through some inner turmoil.  Like I've mentioned in a few prior posts, the Lord is allowing me some enemy exposure.  He's comforted me by relating my story to that of Job.   There comes a time when we need to accept any and all things from the Lord.  If He gives us discernment, it will lead us to understand what is in His plans and what is simply an unfair attack of the enemy.

"He replied, 'You are talking like a foolish woman.  Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?' In all this, Job did not sin in what he said."  Job 2:10

Now, it's still true that Jesus has made us conquerors and overcomers.  He has given us authority over the enemy and the opportunity to live in the Kingdom!  But don't forget that even the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence (Matthew 11:12). And sometimes God allows us to go through unglamorous trials.  Sometimes He allows a sifting.  Often, our Lord will allow evil so that we have something that we need His assistance with.  It's His perfect will that every trial, every sifting, builds our faith so that we can go from strength to strength.  Look at Simon Peter's situation prior to the arrest of Jesus--it was not the Will of God to actively intervene!

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."  Luke 23:32

So a few days ago God spoke to me about what my response to these trials should be.  I felt Him actually telling me to "grin and bear it".  That surprised me!  It's taken a few confirmations for me to put faith in this message.  But by His wisdom I've began understanding what He means by it.

The Lord wants us to acknowledge His sovereignty in all situations.  He needs us to believe, regardless of the circumstances surrounding us, that He is in control and that nothing can possibly separate us from His Love.  He wants us holding onto His promises, regardless of our feelings.

Because if we know the truth, we will be able to "grin and bear" our way past obstacles.  We will be able to hold steadfast.  With the power of His Love, we will be able to patiently endure all things (1 Corinthians 13:7).  God was speaking to me about the manner in which I should be enduring things.  In this case, I just need to accept that He's allowing me more enemy exposure!  As seen in Luke 23:32, it's His will that I come out of my testing with greater faith.  Then He can use me to strengthen the faith in others!  His will for my attitude is to "grin and bear it" in the midst of confusing trials.  Why wouldn't I believe He is good?  Unconditional joy is the response that we need to take when God allows hardship in our lives.

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."  Psalm 18:2

Even when David was in trouble he could identify the truth.  We need to develop an immovable faith. Lord give us the Gift of Faith!  If we know the truth, we can call on God and trust that He will give us a complete renewal.  He renews us and saves us from trouble, and then we have a platform to build on.

"I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies."  Psalm 18:3

This is always what happens next.  God has promised to rescue us from all our troubles.  He has promised to work all things for our good.  So grin and bear it!

Confirmed:  A unique prophetic word was just released on the Elijahlist.  Here it is.  This message really, really ministered to me, as several confirmations stood out.  Below in italics are some short excerpts, and I bolded what stuck out to me:




"This new WAVE of glory will be released to excite people once again. During these days of crisis I will show you I am here, and I Am. Plus, I'll show you how wonderful I am..."

"...Do not be afraid. Stand and see the salvation of the LORD! For I am going to release FUN to the Church! And you will feel the wind! It's for ALL. Just learn to laugh, and watch the enemy flee!" 

He who sits in the Heavens shall laugh... Psalm 2:4



Just learn to laugh.  Grin and bear it...and have confidence in God, even in the midst of warfare.  Thanks to His power we don't have to be afraid--all we have to do is rest in Him  (2 Chronicles 20:17).  When Elijah was surrounded by the wicked prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, He laughed at them!  I'm not sure that he acted perfectly, but it showed the position of faith he had taken.  He trusted God!  He knew his protection was ensured.  More than that, he knew who he'd been called to--the one true God, the only One who is living and loving right now.  All he had to do was let God take the reigns.  All he had to do was laugh!


At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened."  1 Kings 18:27

And sometimes that's what we need to do today.  God's deliverance will come.  We may be surrounded by enemies and our own confusion.  We may feel like God has allowed a delay.  And maybe He has...but He will break through!

Look at Elijah...He was perfectly content to stand still and wait for the salvation of the Lord (Exodus 14:13).  We need to be the same.  We need to love Him enough to seek Him despite any difficulties He may allow.  We need to be willing to wait on Him.  We need to offer up ourselves for testing, according to God's own will.  And when testing comes, we can rest in the victory that Jesus has already obtained for us.  Glory to God!

Snapshot: His Rest

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'In returning and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it'". Isaiah 30:15

This verse had been brought to my memory about a week ago now. It took a couple days and some events for the Lord to show me how exactly this verse applied to Me. God is so faithful, and He was preparing me for future events by bringing this promise to remembrance.

I need to rest in the validation God gives, and not in anything else. Other people do not have the power to justify or condemn. We cannot care about the thoughts of other people so much if it distracts us from God's feelings towards us. The world and it's systems are by default against God's word and His children. Conviction is His job, as is vengeance. Jesus even said we are blessed when men persecute us and speak evil of us. Our job is to turn the other cheek, withdraw from fruitless debating and return to Him. That's were we are aware of our salvation!

Our strength needs to be in the joy of the Lord. And the joy of the Lord is in "quietness and trust", not debating and arguing. The Lord was telling me this verse as a way to prepare me to turn the other cheek. It takes the Holy Spirit to become unoffendable, but praise God that in Him we can succeed. Trusting the words of men leads to deception, or, at best,someone's disappointment, but trusting in the Lord brings strength that does not fade away.

The Joy of Being God's Child

This morning I was praying, and I began to begin asking God for many different things. I got kind of fearful as I was trying to cover all my bases in prayer... as I was praying, the Lord interrupted me and said, "Don't pray for those things". This may sound harsh, but there is a reassurance in targeted prayer solely into the will of God. When I was a less mature Christian, I prayed long prayers for everything and repeated myself often. But as I've come to be closer to God, I've been taught how to be bold and specific in my prayers. It takes some discernment to pray according to His will, but I've found that God is very thematic and confirms His messages, including what to pray for, among the body of believers.

Anyways, this stopped me in tracks, and I asked Him what he would like me to pray for. He told me quite clearly, "Pray that I give you the Joy of being God's child". I felt validated by these words...and struck at the interesting wording of that phrase. We need to let the joy of the Lord be our strength, the joy that comes from being blessed and highly favored. Believe on Him, that the firstborn of many brethren has made you a co-heir and fellow son. Many things in this world have the potential to steal our joy, but we need to keep in step with the Spirit's testimony that we are truly children of God.

Confirmed: A little while after I prayed this, God had me read Nehemiah. I only read a short section, but God made sure to confirm the prayer that He directed. In this passage, Ezra pronounced to the people that the time for mourning was over. Instead, he told them that the "joy of the Lord is your strength". All we need to do is realize and know the joy that comes from His salvation.

Confirmed: In church today a lady shared a vision she'd had. The message that accompanied it was stern, but I felt so at ease because of what God told me earlier. We need the reassurance of the Word of God to counter the lies of the enemy. Anyways, the message was that God "hates it when His children are lied to". Like I said, this message went along with a vision this women had. There were some scripture readings about false prophets and such, too.

This message could have been used against me to make me fearful (by the enemy), but instead it paralleled God's word and became a message of reassurance. God is jealous, and His anger is indeed fierce against those who do evil (the unsaved). The word says that He will contend with those who contend with us. This is His promise--let's rest on this and pray into His justice today! He is faithful to protect us from lies and deception as soon as we call on Him. Glory to God!

Snapshot: Open Ears

A few mornings ago I was praying and asking the Lord to open my spiritual ears and speak to me.  I became filled with the Spirit and opened up my Bible to Mark, as I had felt instructed.  This is the first thing I read:

"And with a deep sigh Jesus looked up to heaven and said to him, ' Be opened!'"

The passage proceeds to describe how the man's ears were opened, and how he was able to speak well after that.  We need the word of the Lord to provide wise, simple speech!  As I was reading I felt so comforted that the Lord had heard my request and had granted it.

Let God speak a word of love to you today, and let the joy of His goodness be your strength!  You will find that God always validates his Word, and his Word tells us that He hears our prayers.  Not only that, but Jesus prays for us as an intercessor!  What a humbling experience to have God himself pray for you and strengthen you.