I loved this weekend's message! Elf is one of my favorite movies, and while I'm sure God used the message to speak to people in different ways, the resounding word I heard was JOY. And it was such a great reminder.
Through the last few years, any difficulty I have faced has served to grow my relationship with God - my trust in Him. I have seen how, as I lean into Him as the one who loves me and knows me better than anyone, He has walked with me every moment. He has shown me that He can use what the world may see as suffering, for good. He can use it for His glory and to point people to their need for a relationship with Him. And that is where JOY comes from. It makes me fearless - because if God is for me, NOTHING can stand against me. And I have to say - thank you to Jackie Walton Bennett, Jerrel Bennett, Mindy Boyd Baier and Tony Boyd for showing me first hand what this means and looks like!
It seems to me that the two things go hand in hand - without suffering, we will never understand true JOY. I read this quote this morning and had to share it - it is such a perfect part of the equation that leads to JOY!!
"Suffering is seldom an item on our list of requests to the Lord. But when it crosses our path and we are able by his grace to keep on walking, our lives become messages of hope to the world and to the church." - Sheila Walsh
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