Finding Joy in the Midst of the Unknown

 

“Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
    for I put my trust in you.”

Psalm 86:4

Look at the joy on that little girl’s face!  She is enjoying the freedom that comes when we choose to sit down, grab hold, take a deep breath and enjoy the ride.

 

Do you remember when you were younger going to amusement parks?  Log rides, giant swings that lifted you upwards of 100 feet into the air and parachutes that dangled narrow benches below that you hopped right on with a sparkle in your eye and a knot in your stomach.

 

Roller coasters were my favorite.  They clicked slowly up those steep hills.  With each breath I would glance down to see how much further we had gone.  Eventually, we’d reach the top and the weight of the front of the coaster would pull the rest over the hill.  I held on for dear life while screaming as loud as I possibly could!  I learned that screaming would actually help keep my stomach from dropping so drastically and I ultimately enjoyed the ride even more the louder that I screamed!

 

Have you ever ridden on a train?  You rock along for hours at a time gaining ground at great speed.  You have the freedom to walk around, talk to friends, grab a cold drink or even lay your head over and catch a nap.  The gentle shake of the train car brings rhythm and white noise to the sleepy parts of the mind.  It’s easy to grab a pillow and find a comfortable spot to doze.

 

These things.  Rope swings, roller coasters and railways.  Although we can see them from the surface, we really never know what they are rooted in.

 

That swing is tied to a tree.  Is it a healthy tree?  Has that branch been compromised in the past?  Is the rope of good quality?

 

That roller coaster was built with man-made materials and maintained by strangers.  Has it been serviced lately?  Are all of the parts in working order?

 

That railroad track has been there a long time.  When was the last time that someone did a thorough inspection on every inch of it?  Have the brakes on the train been checked recently?  Did the conductor receive adequate training before yelling “ALLLLL ABOARD!!!”?

 

We don’t like to think about these things, so we don’t.  We put them out of our minds and make the conscious decision to focus on the good.  The fun.  The unknown.  The absolute joy that is found when we swing high, fly down and rock and roll along those metal rails.

 

When we place our beating hearts into these seats and onto these cars, we are extending trust to total strangers.

 

Why is it so difficult to do the same when it comes to trusting God?

 

This is where faith walks in.  Making the choice to trust and acting on it with full abandon.

 

“Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
    for I put my trust in you.”

Psalm 86:4

When David wrote this Psalm, he was in a bad place in his life.  He was scared.  He had enemies pursuing him.  There were unknowns.

When I read this one small verse I hear a couple of things in his heart.

**David’s desire is to be joyful, despite his circumstances.  He doesn’t want to be dragged down or to walk around in defeat.  He doesn’t want to complain.  He doesn’t want to whine.  He wants to feel alive!

**David has no problem reminding the Lord that he trusts in the One true God.  It’s as if he’s saying “hey, I’m doing what you’ve asked of me, could you fill me with joy in return?”

If we are in fact placing our trust in the Lord, we can ask the Lord to fill us up in return.

It’s okay.  It’s okay!

I believe it’s an honest prayer.  I believe He will honor it.  I believe when we are full of His joy despite our circumstances, He is well pleased.

It’s a win win!

Even when we have a knot in our stomach, even when we look around us and see danger, even when we have zero control over how fast our circumstances are changing, we can still have joy.

Joy!

Full Definition of joy

 

Think about that swing, that roller coaster, that train…at any time something could go wrong.  Any time.

 

“…In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33b

We aren’t called to weigh out the “what if’s”, the worries and wonderings of where God has us.

 

We are called to trust Him.

 

Nothing comes our way without first filtering through our Father.  He knew.  He knows.

 

Rebellious teenager?  He knows.

Your spouse trying to quit on you?  He knows.

Lost your job?  He knows.

Undiagnosed health issue?  He knows.

You’ve lost all of your friends?  He knows.

He’s asked you to give something up?

He’s asked you to give someone up?

He’s asked you to step out of your comfort zone?

 

Can we place our faith in Him, with full-on, wide-eyed, unrestrained anticipation of where He’ll lead?  Trusting Him with every push, turn and bump we may will encounter?

Yes we can!!

 

His limbs won’t break, He won’t let us run off the track and He knows where He is taking us.

 

If we’ve let our circumstances steal our joy, let’s do as David did…place our trust in Him and ask Him to bring joy into our lives despite where we may be…this is where true freedom lies.

 

-Praying for us all to grasp this…

Kellie