2023.
2022 held a lot. There were giant leaps of faith such as publishing a book and my first speaking engagements. Those things alone were miracles on miracles, my friends. This stretched me beyond what I ever could have done on my own, requiring complete trust and abandon. In 2022 we experienced new jobs, new schools and new adventures. There has been intense grief, healing, and continued work towards healing. There have been things that taken the breath out of me and times where I felt like I was completely knocked off my feet - specifically the past few months. But in it all, I have experienced and seen the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. This I know and hold onto - He is faithful to complete what He starts.
If there’s one thing I’ve truly learned through counseling in this past season, it’s the word “both.” Having always leaned towards a black and white mindset, my counselor has challenged me over and over again, “What if both are true? It doesn’t have to be one or the other.” This has brought so much freedom in my thinking, especially in the times I’ve felt weighed down by grief. I know the Lord is continuing to teach me this as I go.
The past many weeks I have been praying for my word for 2023. This isn’t something I take lightly or randomly choose, but dig deep and press in to discover. I pray, I journal, I read the Scriptures the Lord lays on my heart, I seek. When I begin to think I may have the word, I question it - “Are you sure God? Is this is?” Many times the word has scared me, knowing the Lord will definitely use it to teach me. The word that kept coming up over and over again, that I have written in my journal countless times, that literally jumped off the page in capital letters in my devotion the other morning was “joy.” More specifically - “fullness of joy.”
What a breath of fresh air, right? Oh, how I long for joy amid all the pain that we’ve experienced. The things I can’t even talk about - the hidden pain that I know the Lord sees, knows, and carries. And yet I still fought this one. Maybe it felt too simple. Or too happy? I’m not sure, but He brought me peace and clarity that this was the focus for this next year.
I began to search the Scriptures and the Lord brought several verses to me on joy.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:10, we are “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” Do you see it? Here the sorrow and joy are simultaneous. It’s both. This means that amid suffering, we can experience joy - while we are still IN it.
Hebrews 12:2 says, “For the joy set before Him, {Jesus} endured the cross.” Jesus knew the pain He would experience, but the joy that it would ultimately bring outweighed the suffering. In this we can know that there’s a purpose in our suffering. Knowing there’s a purpose - even if we aren’t sure of the purpose - can get us to the other side.
Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Again, we can know that suffering is but temporary - joy will come again. Joy is on the horizon.
Psalm 16:11 says, “In your presence there is fullness of joy.” This brought me back to concept of both. There is always fullness of joy in His presence - no matter our circumstance. Joy in the Lord does not mean the absence of affliction. John Piper puts it this way, we can have “fullness of joy in God if our joy in God is so full that we know we have arrived at the end of our quest for satisfaction. In other words, there may be ups and downs in our level of satisfaction owing to sin or pain, but we never need to be in doubt that Christ is the end of our search.” Isn’t that beautiful? Christ is our end. Christ is our peace. Christ is our fullness of joy.
Philippians 1:4-6 says, “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy … being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” I love this! Paul says that he always prays with joy, because He knows that God has the final say. No matter what we’re experiencing, God can work it for good and He WILL complete His work in us.
1 Peter 1:6-8 says, “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine.” Our ultimate fullness of joy is in Christ’s return and eternity. This life - our trials - are temporary. Nevertheless, our trials have a purpose - to prove our faith. All I know is this - I want my faith to prove genuine. I want to be able to look at everything in my life and know and trust that it’s all worth it. If Christ can endure the cross for the joy ahead, so can I endure whatever cross I’m carrying. With joy.
And finally, I will hold onto this hope, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”
Joy that is inexpressible. Wow. That’s the kind of joy we can have.
In referring to the climax of our joy, John Piper says that one day, “all of our brokenness and all of our inability will be over, and “fullness” will be the right word for the eternal experience.”
Yes and amen. May we go forth in joy.
