‍. . . and no one will take away your joy. John 16:22 NIV

I can remember the day that I felt the Lord calling me to speak and write for Him.  I told Him that He must have the wrong person because there was no way that I could get up in front of people and speak.

I also never felt comfortable sharing my writing with others, so I thought God had lost His mind.  It didn’t take long before God started opening doors for me to walk through to speak and write.

The fear of failure began to take over my life.  I became so fearful of some of the tasks that the Lord had set before me that I missed the joy of what turned out to be a blessing.

I believe all too often the task before us seems like the wrong thing.  We either stop where we are because of fear or we make ourselves “suffer” through it and miss the blessing on the other end.

How many times have you let fear take away your joy?  John 16:22 says that no one will take away your joy.  

That means that when we do not have joy, it is because of a decision that we make.

When you find yourself in a situation that seems impossible or when you are afraid of the task in front of you, I encourage you to step back and ask God to show you the bigger picture.  

The Lord will guide you through it and fear will NOT steal your joy.

Dear Lord, when we are faced with situations that seem impossible for us and cause us to feel overwhelmed or afraid, I ask that You would help us to seek Your face.  Your Word tells us that no one will take away our joy.  Help us to remember that it comes down to a decision that we make to choose joy.  With You, we can do ALL things through You, for You give us strength.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. .

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