“May the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, that you may overflow with Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13
As our Youth Group and I prepare for camp this week, I have been thinking about this year’s theme: Experience Joy. Joy is a hard topic. When we don’t truly understand it, we think that it means we must be happy all the time, that we cannot have other emotions like sadness, anger, or grief. Only happiness. A smile on our face all the time. This “perfect” version of life.
This version of “joy” that only allows us to be happy is not true joy. We were created with many emotions, and we see them through Jesus’ life. Those emotions are good and godly. Jesus wept at the tomb of his dear friend. Jesus had righteous anger when he saw injustice in the world. Jesus was not always happy. He got discouraged. He was sad. He went through all the emotions of humanity. But I believe he was still joyful. He didn’t always have a smile on his face. I’m sure he had this inner light that always showed through in the end.
I think Romans 15:13 describes true joy beautifully. It is this thing that we are filled with which is from the Holy Spirit. This verse tells that when we trust God, giving over all our worries and relinquishing control of our lives, we will be so filled with this sense of peace, hope, and joy, that it will overflow in our lives. This is much easier said than done, but the reward is so worth it.
If you struggle with giving everything in your life to God, I encourage you to start small and see how faithful God is in the small things. I promise God is just as faithful in the big things as well.
Prayer:
God of peace, hope, and joy, help me to have the courage to trust in you in all things. You have been faithful from the beginning of time and will be so until the end of time. Thank you for the ways you fill me with joy. Help me to share that joy with others. Amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Justine