His joy is my strength

Jun 4

“Praise the Lord! For He has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart if filled with JOY. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”

Psalm 29:6-7 NLT

Let me ask you a thoughtful question-

When you need strength, do you seek joy also?

I would say that I don’t often think of needing joy when I need strength to endure. But when we are trying to endure something, feelings of stress, anxiety, and despair often accompany us. That to say, we do need joy in the midst of struggles, even if it feels overwhelming. This is something I have learned and experienced first-hand over the past few months.

Recently, I shared that I will be moving to Colorado at the beginning of June. This is such a sweet and joyful thing to share. I am truly excited for this new chapter of my life and grateful that the Lord has opened this door. Though, this new chapter beginning hasn’t come without its challenges. But God is such a good God. He is always pursuing, providing, meeting you , and ready to teach to help you in every season of life. So when I felt led to take the leap to move, I started to work towards it.

As I have been preparing for a new season of life and transition, stress and some anxiety have been upon me. Starting January, I began to make timelines & checklists for every detail for the next few months leading up to the move. Looking at jobs & a living opportunity to check things off my list. Even though I had moved once from North Carolina to Virginia at the age of 19, this move was different in ways. It seemed much more overwhelming and at times unobtainable. But I continued to pursue the direction that God seemed to be leading. He had orchestrated everything thus far, I knew He would stay near.

The process of prep work for moving across the country carried on. Searching for a job that would allow me to start months later and an apartment to call home.
“Wait, what about roommates? How am I paying for this? When will I be realistically able to move? How are my family’s hearts doing? How is mine?” These questions began to pile in my brain, followed by the “what if” questions.

What if everything falls apart? What if I fail?

Days turned into weeks and still I ran into dead-ends for my Colorado needs. At times when I did have a breakthrough of provision, other door seemed to close right after. My mind and heart began to grow weary and discouraged. Life had felt like a rollercoaster spanning over months, with constant ups and downs. After a while of this, I found myself laying it all out and down for the Lord one night. My body, soul, and mind were weary, drained from the discouragement that seemed to keep hitting home. Kneeling on the floor of my bedroom, hands stretched out in front of me, tears rolling down my face, I poured out my heart to my Heavenly-Father. In act of absolute surrender, I gave all my plans, thoughts, doubts, and anxiety to the Lord, speaking these words aloud:

“Father, You alone have brought me here to this very moment. Your hands have guided me to this place, given me all that I have needed, revealed yourself to me, been gracious and patient with me, and never left my side. Thank you, Jesus. Now, I am here before you, weary, and surrendering it all. I want your voice upon my ears and your plans to be mine. I need your will to be done here in your timing. But Father, let me meet you in the midst of it all. Speak to me, show me how to walk forward, and where to go. I am willing to do challenging things and put in the work, but I need your provision and peace. I need strength to hold on to you. I need you, Abba.”

Exhausted but with more peace in my soul, I went to sleep. That night, for the first time in weeks, I slept through the night. Some would say that was just because I was exhausted, but I know that it was the Lord working. His peace had started from the moment that I had begun to speak, putting my trust in Him, leaving my doubts in His hands.
He was already using this to show me that I needed to be truly dependent on Him.

The next morning, I had new breath within me. New words were placed in my mind -

“His MIGHTY favor is upon you.”
”The JOY of the LORD is your STRENGTH.”

Taking these words to heart, I wrote them out and posted them where my eyes would see them daily. A note card in my Bible, a sticky note in my car, a letter taped to my mirror. When stress arose (and it still did at times), I would look at His promise and words to me. His MIGHTY FAVOR is UPON ME. HIS JOY is MY STRENGTH.

Isn’t it a beautiful thing to watch things fall into place after completely surrendering it to God? It really makes you appreciate things more when you know they are coming from the Lord in His timing. The past 5 months has facilitated a time of reseting my dependency on the Lord. He wants me to come to Him for my strength. He wants me to experience overwhelming JOY not stress. I needed to seek Him and open my heart to His power.

Daily, I have felt a new song in my soul. It is a different feeling than the superficial joy that you buy or get from worldly things. It’s a joy that radiates in your bones, through your body, lighting up your mind, heart and soul. It’s a joy that is overwhelming, bringing a strength and peace that is extraordinary. I have experienced this all first-hand, feeling this God-given joy consume me. Watching as it flows from my Heavenly-Father to my heart and mind. He is where my joy comes from. I have the joy of the Lord within me.

Life is full of challenges. We might think that we have a foolproof plan, then something spins your world upside-down. This is a part of living in this imperfect world. I would never want to face this life alone nor would I survive without my gracious God. Yes, I still encountered days that have stress, or moments of anxiety, but His presences remains. His supernatural joy, peace, and strength are with me. When those moments or days arise, bringing stress or seem impossible, I say “but God”. I turn over the stress to Him and make room for His JOY that is my strength. This gift of joy carries me on.

A last note I want to leave you with is this…
When you need strength to face the storm around you, surrender. Not to the storm or the anxiety, but to the Lord. This sometimes is hard to wholeheartedly do, but I challenge you to try it. Maybe, you will be surprised by the outcome. And when you seek strength, look for the joy that accompanies it. The favor and joy of the Lord is mighty. It is upon you, dear child. Seek Him, lean into His favor, and trust Him. Those “what if” questions will fade to the background when His voice and songs of joy invade. The strength that you can receive is unmatched. Why would you do it all alone?

My mom left a note for me to look on, I want to leave it with you-

Alayna Joy!

Remeber the “breathing prayers” that we do.
1) Breathe out the stress- the problem
to make room for:

2) Breathe in- take in God’s peace and joy knowing that He will take care of this!

Love,
Mom

I hope that you are able to feel the overwhelming JOY of the Lord this week.
Whether you are facing a storm right now or not, His joy is waiting to consume you. May you find unmatched strength and peace through Him. May a new song fill your mind, soul, and heart.

Thank you, Jesus. What a privilege it is to know and be known by you.
Thank you for never forsaking me and giving me hope to face tomorrow. May I lift my new song of joy to you, giving glory to the One my strength comes from. Praise Your name, Jesus!

Love,
Alayna Joy

P.s. For those that are curious about the outcome of my checklist for moving- I can’t wait to share more about this in the next upcoming post…but I will just say for now, my Lord provided :)

Psalm 29:6-7 NLT

Alayna Davis

His joy is my strength

From Thorns to Fruit