God Chose Joy!

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself during Roger’s message on Sunday, December 30^th as he encouraged us to use the fruit of the Spirit as a reference point to stimulate new growth in our lives in the New Year.  Memories flooded my mind as we reviewed the list presented in Galatians 5 and I pondered which of these qualities I might want to focus on in the coming months.  There was no doubt in my mind – I have yet to feel proficient in self-control and so surely I should give this aspect of the spiritual fruit more time and attention in my life.  You see, I've tried to cultivate this quality in the past and always felt like I've come up short…  Surely God would want me to renew my efforts and attempt to reach “maturity” in this spiritual realm!

But the thought left me feeling discouraged right from the start and I took my sense of self-condemnation to God while Roger continued with the sermon.  “God, I seem to always fail in this endeavor…  Self-control just seems to elude me in some areas.  Yes, I've made progress… but I see how far I need to yet go, not how far I've come.  Help!!”

And just like that a thought came into my mind – rather than picking one of the fruit by myself, maybe I should ask GOD to pick from the list what HE wants to develop in my life in 2013.  What a freeing thought!  And so I paused to simply ask “God, what fruit of the Spirit would you like me to experience this year?”  His response seemed to come immediately into my thoughts and it caught me by surprise! 

“Joy!  I want you to know JOY in this New Year!”

Joy?!  Not self-control??  But joy seems so easy…  Surely spiritual growth should be hard work.  Surely I should have to “suffer”…  To focus on joy for an entire year would seem like such a blessing!  Could it be that God was serious?  It sure felt that way to me as I continued to ponder and process this interaction between my Heavenly Father and me.  Would I let God develop joy in my life?  Although I desired this experience with all of my heart, a year full of joy seemed a bit risky to me, oddly enough.  Could I hope for something so enjoyable?

And then the New Year dawned and plans for my mission assignment to Uruguay hit full swing.  A tentative departure date was set and I began to sweat over the needed financial support.  I trusted God to act according to His will but doubts set in at times, too.  And then, on January 20^th the “miracle” happened and a tidal wave of joy hit me and my Care Team as the financial need was met in one final swoop!  Joy!  Amazing joy! 

I guess God wasn't kidding when I sensed His response regarding the spiritual fruit.  I’m not presumptuous enough to assume I know what the rest of this year will bring… but I’m taking this call to joy seriously.  Because with joy comes gratitude and I want to remain ever-grateful for all that God does and has done.  So, bring it on, God!  I want to deepen my spiritual maturity by allowing You to cultivate joy in my life!