Psalm 4:7 You have given me great Joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.

I see you! Opening your social media apps. Scrolling through your timeline and lurking on your high school classmates profiles. Clicking the discover page only to see celebrities and Instagram models living their best life. Now the enemy of comparison has creeped into the door of your heart. All of a sudden, the life God has given you is not quite good enough. Pressure to produce a similar facade begins to wreak havoc in your mind. How many filters until my skin looks perfect? Which app is necessary to appear to have the perfect body? Facetune? Well, Facetune away! Okay, enough of that! Let’s watch some television. Oooo look at Beyonce and Jay-Z! I want their life. Why don’t I have a relationship like that? Look at their clothes. Should I buy a Louis Vuitton belt? Yes! Then I can look rich on Instagram and more people will like my pictures. I can pose like Beyonce too for added measure. This will make me so happy! My life won’t suck anymore if I just change these few things.

You guys, I could go on and on about how easily we are convinced our lives are not great enough due to outside influences. Outside influences that for the most part, mean us no good. I decided to go with social media apps and television, but we all know there are more masterful tools that try to shape who we think we should be and what will make us happy. In the reference scripture, the Psalmist speaks of a “greater joy.” Now, this Joy is greater in comparison to those who received an abundant harvest and new wine! Want a simpler translation? Picture trying to grow crops and see your hard work actually paid off. Your crops did not whither and die, but produced bountifully. In addition, you can add more wine to your homemade collection. Can you say par-taaaay? Haha!

That was a huge deal back in the day and still is for modern day farmers of our time. Now what this looks like in 2019, is finding a greater Joy that proves itself better than a celebrity lifestyle. Having this kind of Joy has been a recent struggle of mines. In my assessment of myself, it’s apparent I look to be sad sometimes. Sure thoughts will come in my head, but it is up to me to DECIDE to live in that state of mind or tear that thought down as God gave me the ability to do through His Spirit and Word(2Cor. 10:5). Even in that revelation, I gained a bit more confidence but that still didn’t trigger Joy. If all I had to do was cast thoughts down, I wouldn’t need Jesus. Meaning, He would not have to die on The Cross for me. He could have just stayed where He was and told me that which is why we have to know thinking positively is NOT good enough. I speak with emphasis on that because Christians are being deceived and even spreading this other doctrine and it is really promoting SELF as the savior. If it were all in my hands to speak well and good things come then what is the use of God and why are people still depressed, angry, envious, lustful, murderers, and the list continues? Reason being, we needed The Blood of Jesus.

I have had prophecies spoken over me about how great my future looks as well as dreams. Currently in an answered prayer relationship and was blessed to move to NY. My edges are flourishing and skin is clearing up. So I should be joyful, right? WRONG! Although I am grateful for all those things, not one of those things brings me the same great joy in the verse. I even told God that I am thankful for your prophecies and dreams, but I want real Joy. I want the Joy of my salvation and not the temporary happiness from “gaining or receiving” something because then I begin to chase those things and not YOU. Or when those things fail me, my joy depletes. With my parents passing away, I am learning to grieve correctly. With that comes knowing I love them, but my Joy did not die with them. In fact, they are not dead, but sleeping. That is the promise of dying in Christ. So when people leave, when the money is low, when my skin is breaking out, and I am being lied on, talked about, etc…I can still have a greater Joy because my soul is saved from eternal hell. Due to my loving Savior giving His life for little ol’ me. Imperfect, sometimes angry, prideful, and depressed me and I describe myself as that to let you guys know I am not perfect. God is perfecting me and working on me even with the adjectives I just used to describe myself.

Now, I fight for this Joy. I fight through the noise of life that tries to keep me in a prison of negative thoughts and comparison. This Joy was bought for me and I dare not cheapen the gift as if anything else could be better. Time has proven that to be wrong and unfulfilling. The more I get from the world, the less satisfied I am. However, the more I get from God, the more He satisfies me! I pray that you embrace this greater Joy! Ask God to show you exactly what He has already done for you and not just what He can do because He is not a genie. Remember His Love. Discover His Faithfulness. Embrace His Grace. It all started with The Cross, but it ended with His Resurrection. That’s the real JOY 🙂