En-Joy

Have you ever thought about what the word Enjoy means? I mean, everyone knows that to enjoy something means to take pleasure in something, to be content with something or doing something. Two months ago as I was sitting in church at Red Rocks, the pastor began to preach about this word, but instead of taking it as the normal definition he broke it down into two parts. The first part was the latin word EN. En means to fill, to cover, to put into or onto, to provide with, or to pour itself into. Not too complicated yeah? And the second part of the word is JOY. Joy defined is: a feeling of great delight and happiness. SO essentially, the word enjoy means, to cover, pour itself into, to provide with, or to put in a feeling of great delight and happiness. So when you enjoy something it means that that something has poured delight and happiness into you.


I always hear the phrase, as I'm sure you all have too, "Enjoy the little things." For my first blog I wanted to focus on that saying, and say that it is so true! There have been countless days in which the littlest thing has cause me to be joyful, or caused me to be sad, to be mad, to be frustrated, to be happy. Little things, in fact have a great effect on how we feel and think about everything. Don't you remember the last time a little thing made you feel something? How maybe a hug or a smile from someone filled you with joy and happiness. Maybe the little thing you are thinking about made you feel sad, or mad even. What I am trying to get to is that there are somedays, not always, but sometimes, you have those days where you are just down. Those days where you feel like nothing can get you out of your mood. And then suddenly it just takes one little thing to brighten you up. One thing to turn it around and make you see, feel, gain, and reach that joy. And that, is what God wants for us.


God wants us to feel joy.


Better yet God commands us to be joyful.


"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice."
Philippians 4:2


Think about that. How amazing and loving and caring is our God that He commands his people to be joyful, and not sorrowful. You see, God put us on this earth to build relationships not just with people, but with Him. Not just to love others, but to love Him. And by loving Him you have everything! By choosing Him over all worldly things you don't need anything else because our God will provide it for you. He is the source of our joy. And the only true source of pure, legitimate joy. All we have to do is ask for it, and we will receive it...yet we always go back to seeking joy and happiness through worldy things. We seek it in clothes, in accesories, in people, in relationships, in movies, etc. Worldly things...eventually pass away, they die off and all you are left with is emptiness once you've become dependent on that. Sure it makes you feel good for a little while but then you cotinue to search for it again. We always forget that true joy is found in our God. It is found in him and him alone. And with that kind of joy, what else would we need? C.H. Spurgeon did a whole sermon over Joy and I attached a link if you are interested. One thing I never forget that he said was:


"...rejoice in God. He changes not. If the Lord be your joy, your joy will never dry up. All other things are but for a season; but God is for ever and ever. Make him your joy, the whole of your joy, and then let this joy absorb your every thought. Be baptized into this joy; plunge into the deeps of this unutterable bliss of joy in God."

JOY. I feel like it has been the theme of my life this year. It keeps popping up, and it keeps moving me forward. For the longest time I thought I had to search for Joy, to keep looking and looking for it. Yet when i did this I could never find it. I feel like I've been searching for the joy I thought I lost for the longest time. And out of nowhere the littlest things bring it back to me again. And those are the moments...those are the times when I give thanks to my God. I give thanks because these moments, which i crave on a daily basis, happen to occur when I most need them. It's always as if God is like, "Not yet Siam, not yet my child, you will get that joy, I promise, but just wait and be patient and trust in me. And when I bless you with it you will not be disappointed." And the truth is I never am : ] I got to experience a tidal wave of joy this summer when i went on a missions trip to Zimbabwe. God showed himself in so many ways, through so many moments, through these people. The picture at the top of this blog is a picture of me and one of the little kids at the orphanage we helped at. His name is Wellington. This night we took so many pictures and the best part about it was seeing this little kid's face brighten up when he saw himself on my camera. The other kids had a blast too! I miss them all and love them so much, but more on that later :) The point is, I have neer felt so much joy than when i was over there and maybe that is where i am meant to be, maybe not. I may not know but God knows. God knows my heart. He knows my deepest desires. He knows who I truly am. I know that I am not perfect, I know that I am weak, I know that I sin every single day of my life, yet despite this and many more things, I know that I have a God who loves me for who I am and knows me inside and out. And although i may not know where my life is headed, He does. And that-- is worth everything.


So : ] sorry this first blog is kinda long, but if you made it through it, thanks! I hope it made you think a bit and made you remember how much God loves you and cares for you. I am not sure how often these blogs will be made haha, but I appreciate you reading this one and possibly the ones to come. Remember to enjoy the little things, because most of the time God is found in them even if you don't know it ;)


Au Revoir!


P.s. Here are the links to Spurgeon's sermon and Red Rocks Church sermons too!


http://www.apibs.org/chs/2405.htm

http://www.redrockschurch.com/sermons/