Joyful Always

I recently spent a few days with one of my good friends, we did many things together, we went out we joked, we played, and we prayed, we ate, we talked, it was awesome. I didn’t want to leave after the weekend we had. I enjoy times like this spent with VGFs. (very good friends)
Days after I returned, I was full of life, happy, and just generally felt good about myself, partly due to the fact that I was away for a couple of days and spent time relaxing with someone whose company I enjoy.

This got me thinking: Can it be this way always! Can I be joyful, happy and relax always? Maybe it can, maybe I can. Why can’t it be, if I spend time with my best friend in the whole world, my best friend who is also my dad, my help, my all in all: God my Father? Now imagine what it will be like to always talk with him, walk with him, share jokes with him, giggle with him, listen to him, cry to him, and unburden your heart to him: imagine what that will do to and for you. We can be joyful every minute of every day. It is possible, why? Because we will never leave his presence and in his presence there is fullness of Joy! He said his presence will go with us and he will give us rest.

I came away from the presence of my friend refreshed, this lasted for a couple of days (as all holiday does). Imagine, if I don’t have to leave the presence of the Joy Giver, it means I’ll be Joyful Always! I know, we cannot be happy, hippy all the time, that’s what we’ve been told and we’ve come to believe it. The main reason we are not always joyful is because we leave his presence and pursue our own agenda. We feel a temporal high from being with him and then we leave.

We associate our special prayer times and places of prayer with the presence of God. Often, we finishe praying, get up and carry on as usual, there’s subtle unconsciousness of we’ve finished, “now we can go about our business”, “we are leaving the presence” till our next “prayer time”. The presence of God should be with us everywhere we go, in, during and outside our specific prayer times and place. Staying in his presence is the only sure belt that we can be Joyful All The Time.

So with the help of the Holy Spirit, practise being in his presence all the time, every day. Find small ways of involving him in your daily activities. Stop and pray in the middle of work. Set little reminders to get you back into his presence and soon it’ll become second nature to you and you’ll find you are full of joy unspeakable All The Time.

So straight from my heart: I encourage you seek his presence more than his presents,
His presence brings peace which passes all understanding, peace in the mist of dire circumstances, which permeates the souls, unleashing it from the tangles of pain, sets it free to be joyful, Joy that trickles as an endless stream which flows from being with him, never ending, always abiding. Always a joy to be joyful always!