I Still Have Joy

I was inspired to write this peace by Ron Kenoly’s song “I Still Have Joy”. On May 14th, 2009, I was awakened by a phone call at 04:10am and I couldn’t sleep again. I lied in bed and started looking at the four corners of my room. As usual, I began to worry about the days, weeks and years ahead of me. However, I controlled my thoughts and began to pray. As I was praying, Ron Kenoly’s song “I Still Have Joy” came on my heart so I started singing it out loud in the darkness and for the first time, I felt the impact of the song. It was all that I needed to tell God. The lyrics of the song became my prayer. “After all I’ve been through; I still have JOY, PEACE and LOVE”.


Song Lyrics
I've been tested, my faith has been tried
Satan has attempted to destroy my life
He's robbed abused accused and stole
He's done everything he could do, to conquer my soul

Chorus
I still have joy, I still have joy
After all I've been through, I still have joy

Friends have left me, they've questioned my faith
The good I tried to do, was thrown back in my face
The hurt and the pain brought tears to my eyes
But God has replaced a blessing, for every tear that I've cried


JOY
Nehemiah 8:10 says “The Joy of the Lord is my strength”.

After all I’ve been through, I still have Joy. The past months have been my most challenging months especially between November and April. There were days when I woke up and wondered if indeed the God that I serve was alive. I was tested, my faith was tried and the devil attempted to destroy my life in so many ways. There were nights that I shamelessly cried in my bed because some friends and people I loved so much left me and questioned my faith. The good I tried to do was thrown back in my face. There were times when I didn’t know what the next day held for me.

But through all this, I knew I had to continue trusting my God. I had come too far by faith to let go. Instead of crying and worrying, I began to invest in prayers and the Word of God. I invested my time and energy in the things of God. I began to look at the bright side of things instead of the dark side. I began to focus on the goodness and mercies of God instead of the little impediments in my life. I prayed the Prayer of Consecration one night and left it all to God and His JOY became my strength ever since. I haven’t got it all but I can confidently say that I’m one of the happiest persons alive because I know that my God is taking His own time to mould me. My life might look weird to some people, but I know I serve a faithful God and I’m happy. When I think about His goodness, mercies and faithfulness, my heart swells with JOY and my strength is renewed.
After all I’ve been through, I still have JOY because I’m seeking the face of God instead of man.


PEACE
Philippians 4:7 says “And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”.

Peace here refers to inner peace. Peace must be felt within the heart and mind. Without PEACE, you can never be happy no matter how much riches you might have. Who gives peace? Jesus Christ is the PRINCE OF PEACE. The peace of God prevents one from worrying because you know and trust that God has control over everything. You go to bed with a peaceful mind without thinking about what you will eat, drink or wear tomorrow or how a project is going to turn out. God require Christians to live a peaceful and worry free life that is why He cautions us in 1 Peter 5:7 to “cast all our care upon Him”. Things might look shaky on the outside, but with inner peacefulness, you can conquer the outside tremor.

LOVE
Romans 5:8 “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

One of my favorite Sunday School song was “God’s love, is so wonderful, it’s so high, you can get over it, it’s so low, you can get under it and it’s so wide you can get around it. As Christians, aren’t we blessed to have such kind of LOVE? Even while we were yet sinners, God showed His love for us by sending His son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.

After all my murmurings, complains and doubts for the past months, He still loved me. God’s LOVE is continuous. What kind of love is continuous as His love? Most times, we give our 100% trust and love to our parents, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, thinking they will never hurt or disappoint us but they always do. During the past eight months, I came to know the full implications of God’s love. Friends that I thought would never disappoint me did, family members disappointed me as well. WHY, because I believed in their love more than the LOVE of God. But when things got worse, it was the Lord that I turned to and because His love is everlasting, He welcomed me back.

I’m not perfect; I’ve made lots of mistakes consciously and unconsciously. After all my ungratefulness and unrighteousness, I came to a realization that, I still have His love no matter what.

After all I’ve been through; I still have JOY, PEACE and HIS LOVE.

Are you looking for joy, peace and love? The SECRET is JESUS.
Matthew 6:33 says “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you”.

SEEK GOD. STAY BLESSED.