Reclaiming Our Joy In The LORD

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? …” Psalm 42:11

Coming home from Manitoulin this year was rough.

Before leaving, I had made my Action Plan for Going home - just as I had every year previous. I had cleared my mind - removed the clutter of the world and cleared the cobwebs from the corners - ready to place in it things that were sanctifying to God. That week had strengthened old friendships and built new ones. And just like every year, I expected to come home ready to do those things on my Action Plan, I had expected to come home with the post-Conference high.

Instead, I came home with crushing disappointment.

As soon as I stepped out of my car, it was as if all of the clutter I had so meticulously cleaned out over the course of that week had instantly been shoved back in. The headspace I had promised to dedicate to God was instantly filled with what needed to be done: with school - it started in two days - with work - what were my hours again? - with my responsibilities at home - family was coming in from out of town in three days, the house needed to be spotless -

And the fact that these things had so easily swept back into my clear, focused, dedicated mind pummeled me. The walls that I had so carefully built shattered the second they were tested - before I even had time to prepare. All the work God, I, and others had done in building myself back into someone dedicated to Him was washed away in an instant.

And that, I think, is what brought me to my knees the night I got home. The staggering weight of disappointment that this was the world that I lived in, and no week away from it would prepare me upon returning. I didn’t live in the perfect world of Manitoulin Youth Conference - the one where Bible study was the priority and God was the topic of conversation. It was a glimpse into the life of the Kingdom, and I had to return to a world without it.

I think that is what brought me to my knees in prayer that night, though I didn’t know it at the time.

I don’t know if prayer is the right word, though. I had demanded of God to know why He had decided that this was the state, the mindset He needed me to be in. Why was this year so different than previous? I had come back with such a high then - why not now?

Why did He think this was best? It had been less than two hours since I had been home and already I felt like I was further away from Him.

Why did He think that this was a good idea? It was exactly the opposite of what I wanted. I wanted my entire mind and heart to be dedicated places to Him, why wasn’t He letting me feel this way?

The next couple of days were not any better, and while settling back into a routine I continued to question God’s reasoning in bombarding me. And I didn’t feel as if I was making any progress either - the joy that I had at Conference was gone. It hadn’t faded slowly like usual, it was snuffed out like a light and I didn’t feel like I was gaining any back - however small the amount.

What I didn’t lose was the determination. Even without the “spiritual high” I was determined to keep my relationship strong, determined to keep Him as my Rock and my Strength.

But how was I to go about strengthening my relationship with God (when I had no joy in doing so?) I had spent the week of Manitoulin doing just that - deepening my love for God and drawing my comfort from Him - but now without that heady joy, what was I supposed to do?

I found that without the passionate happiness brought on by a bible school, I turned to Him even more in search of comfort and of contentment.

But what could I do to reclaim that flame of utter happiness in God?

What are any of us supposed to do when our Joy in the LORD is departed?

I didn’t have the answer nearly three weeks ago, and I’m not sure I have much more of an answer now.

In hindsight, I know God was working through me to better me as His disciple, and I knew this even in the midst of the emotional whirlwind of the past few weeks. But what could I have done - what can we do - in the midst of this to help ourselves reclaim our Joy in the LORD?

Two and a half weeks ago, I messaged a friend, and this was his suggestion: stay positive, keep your friends of like-mindedness close, do things with them, and remember that God is working in you.

I sat and thought about his answer. How would I practically apply those suggestions? I wasn’t struggling with the knowledge that God is working in me to shape my character to be His (Rom 8:28; Heb 13:20-21). And I knew how to keep active with my friends in the Truth. But how was I supposed to “keep positive?” This was the exact thing I was struggling with.

I’m still figuring this out.

I’ve begun a couple of things to help me reclaim my Joy in the LORD. They are still rough ideas, and I don’t know how well they are working because I’ve only just begun, but here they are:

●      Journaling verses about Joy

●      Studying and praising a characteristic of God each Week (this week is: He is our Redeemer)

●      Starting up this blog again

●      Scheduling uninterrupted time with God

●      Continuing to read the scriptures continually

All of these things I’ll, LORD willing, talk about in the coming weeks, but I wanted to start this blog up again in the hopes of tracking my progress, sharing with others my process in hopes that you too can grow closer to God. Because Singing Psalms in the Thunderstorm is a skill we all have to develop - it takes time and it takes practice.

And the only way to practice is when God puts us in that Thunderstorm.

Before I signed off though, I wanted to add a few suggestions of my own:

●      We don’t always have to be happy. Jeremiah certainly wasn’t - look at the Lamentations we just read in the Daily Readings - and neither was David, or even Christ. So we shouldn’t expect to be happy at all times simply because we have God.

●      We need to appreciate these lows too. What can we learn about God from these times in our lives that God couldn’t have shown us if we were full of happiness as opposed to sorrow?

And finally, here are some verses that I have found comforting the past few weeks, and I hope that you can find strength from them as well.

●      James 1: 2-42  
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

●      Psalm 34:4
"I sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears."

●      Psalms 34:6-7
"This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
    and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them."

●      Psalms 34:8
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"

●      Psalms 34: 15
"The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
    and his ears toward their cry."

●      Psalms 34:17-20
"When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones;
    not one of them is broken."

●      2 Cor 4:8-9,16-18
"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ...
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

●      Lam 3:22-25
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
    to the soul who seeks him."

●      Lam 3:31-32 
"For the Lord will not
    cast off forever,
but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love"


Rom 8:28 - "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."


Heb 13:20-21 - "Now may the God of peace ... equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

“...Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.” Psalms 42:11

In the Hope of Israel, 

Mikaelah B 

 "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalms 84:10