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Day 2: Inexpressible Joy 

You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. — 1 Peter 1:8 (NLT)

Nehemiah reveals an amazing secret to life: The joy of the Lord is your strength! Joy is something much deeper than happiness, which can rise and fall. Joy is a combination of peace, prosperity, and wellbeing — an internal sense that all is well, underpinned with the certainty that above all, God is in control. Deep joy will often overflow into happiness, but it is not dependent on what is going on around us. 

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. — James 1:2-4 (NLT)

Joy does not rely on our circumstances. It is founded on an unshakeable trust in God, and the confidence that He is working everything for your benefit and maturity. That’s precisely why the enemy targets your joy and why you should be careful to guard it.

In a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. — 2 Cor 8:2 (NKJV)

The churches of Macedonia were experiencing great trials and afflictions, and yet their joy and expression of generosity was abundant. Generosity and joy have a unique relationship — generosity feeds joy and joy feeds generosity. 

The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. 

— Pr 11:25 (MSG)

Be aware that the devil will try to steal your generosity to kill your impact and destroy your promises — and if the devil can steal your generosity, he can undermine your life. A person who is stingy on the outside is bound up on the inside; stinginess is evidence of a heart that is not right. I’ve seen it over and over again… the first two things that disappear when people are not in a good place are their joy and their generosity.

A generous eye and attitude are the evidence of internal joy. I encourage you to protect and hold onto your joy and generosity because when you are committed to being generous, your life will overflow with inexpressible joy. 

Joy is the serious business of heaven. — C.S. Lewis