Joy... and small miracles...

 A friend and I are praying for one another...

We are praying that we each would have the Joy of the Lord, daily, and that all we do would be done as unto Him in His joy.  We desire to do the mundane things of our lives well, and we long to do them in the joy of the Lord rather than in the grumbling and complaining attitude of our flesh.  We long to be joyful wives, joyful moms, and joyful friends.  We want to be vessels of His joy!  We are praying that His joy would be made full in us (John 15) and that all our springs of joy would be found in Him (Psalm 87).

Well, today, unfortunately like yesterday, started out being a very hard day.  It was as if my joy was snatched away before I could even blink, and all I wanted to do was to sit down in a puddle and cry my eyes out... but I prayed to my Lord.  I told Him that I would not allow this world to steal His joy He had placed in me through His Holy Spirit, that I would fight for it, that I would not allow it to be snatched away without a fight.  I reminded myself that my joy is in the Lord, and not in anything or anyone in this world.  I turned my mind heavenward, and thought about what my Lord has done for me.  I tried to see the events of my morning in an eternal perspective rather than an earthly, temporal perspective.  I texted my friend... and she prayed for me...

Then I received an email... from someone who had no idea about my battle for joy today.  At the close of her email was a Bible verse that jumped off the computer screen and into my heart, God's Word jumped into my heart and ministered comfort and peace to me.  It was Exodus 14:14

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

I prayed, and thanked the Lord of hosts, thanked Him for fighting for me, and thanked Him for His timely Word.  And then His peace descended in my heart and my mind... and I knew I could walk the rest of this day in the joy of the Lord.


And then....

Later, I witnessed a small, yet powerful miracle... I witnessed the power of God to bring a child to repentance.  I witnessed the power of God to cause a child to become humble, to confess his sin to his mother, and to ask her forgiveness.  What a wonder... to see the power of God at work in the heart of your child! 

So a day that started out hard and tearful, has been redeemed by my Lord.  He is fighting for me, He is equipping and empowering me, He is filling me with His joy, and He is working in the hearts of those in my life!  How I praise Him!