Destination? Joyful! (tm) from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thanks for stopping by for our Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power! Whew, we are officially in summer! Grab your “iced” or hot coffee and come on in for a new series.

For those of you who are regulars at Coffee Hour, I’m sure you’ve noticed a couple of changes! God is increasing our territory and He’s using MEN to do it! We now have Monday’s Manna by Garrett Castro, and Wednesday’s Word – which may change to Friday after the event – written by my son, Jeff Burton! So bear with us as we get into a new routine!

I don’t know about you, but I’m in need for a real joy-stirring series, especially coming up and out of a 300-page curriculum that addresses the roots of any -- yes, I said “any” – hurt, habit or hang-up! So my intent is to not go too deep, and hopefully I won’t have to dig too much to stir up that joy within each one of us who have figuratively signed the adoption papers to be children of God.

I guess that’s as good a place to start as any! The joy’s already in us. If you’re reading this right now, and going through a real tough time, you may find that truth hard to swallow -- ha, then it would really be in you! :) -- But let me assure you, His joy is in us if we’ve invited Him to clean out and reside in our heart! See, the word “joy” is in His Love Letters to us over 200 times! It’s one of the most talked-about subjects.

Dang it! I just can’t put the shovel down! I’m wondering if there’s someone reading this blog that needs some real proof about joy and the Author of true joy! Let’s have some fun with this and begin our quest for joy with the aid of my handy-dandy Hebrew and Greek Exhaustive Concordance, a must-have for tools in the digging process.

The first time the word “joy” appears is in 1^st Samuel – wait, that tells me something interesting that will definitely add to my bucket of joy: So if joy comes from Him abiding in us, then here’s more proof that the trinity is for real; that God knew man would fall in the Garden; that we would need a Helper, a Comforter to stir up that joy in times of sorrow or trouble. Okay. Sorry, got a bit off track there.

Let’s check out the first translation in Hebrew for joy: “blithesomeness or glee.” Hmm, haven’t heard that first word before, at least not with the “ness” at the end of it! Oh, wait a minute! It says that this noun is both a technical term for the external expression of joy; and then it references Genesis 31:27. Let’s go check that out!

“Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp?”

Okay, so we need to detour just a bit here, but oh, how I love the way He’s leading! So this verse is in reference to Laban and Jacob. The short version of that long story is Laban is trying to outsmart Jacob while Jacob spends some time on the run, running from this self-centered man and Laban overtakes Jacob. In that moment, Laban experiences a little breakthrough that helps him let go of some of his selfishness and for that moment, he himself experiences joy and speaks of sending Jacob, who had stolen much of what was Laban’s, off in joy!

The story is way more complex than that, but to wrap up our first detour, I think God wants us to know that no matter how bad things look, no matter what or who is taken from you, or how lost in fear you are, no matter what has tried to overcome you, there is joy to be found!
Join me tomorrow for our Power Friday and next week for more ways to discover the joy within us to lead us to our Destination? Joyful! ™!

Evinda