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Issue link: http://magazine.kcm.org/i/1200858
We had other circumstances of joy producing physical strength as well. Gloria was conducting a miracle service one Saturday morning. She had preached for quite some time and then laid hands on several hundred sick people afterward. She felt drained and worn out. The LORD impressed her to dance before Him, so she told the musicians to play “Blow the Trumpet in Zion." As they played and she danced and rejoiced in The LORD, the joy of the Lord rose up from her innermost being. After the meeting she came bouncing back to the hotel, having fun and enjoying The LORD! She was vibrant and refreshed. Gloria learned by personal experience that the joy of The LORD is her strength. Joy Is Already Inside Us I have made a decision that, rather than operating in self-pity, I will operate in the joy of The LORD the rest of my life. I have made this decision because I want to know more about my Father. And joyfulness keeps the door to the revelation knowledge of God open. That joy is already inside you and me (Galatians 5:22). It came in when The LORD came to live within us (Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 6:17). But it is our place to reach in there by faith and get it. The place to start is knowing God. Jesus said, “Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be made full.” Ask to have the Father revealed to you. Discouragement is rooted in self-pity and self-preservation. Discouragement is the opposite of joy. When you aren’t worried about yourself and how well you are going to come out in a deal, then you can be joyful. When you are joyful, you are strong in The LORD! The devil has already been defeated by Calvary’s Cross, so you don't have anything to worry about! All you have to do is be joyful in the knowledge of your heavenly Father. Everything He has is yours! You just need to find out what He has. Jerry Savelle once said, “If the devil can’t steal your joy, he can’t keep your goods!” You cannot be defeated when you are walking in the joy of The LORD. When you are strengthened with His might in your inner man, you will understand more about your Father, and He will begin to give you more understanding about the situation you are in. But you must keep the door to that revelation open by abounding with thanksgiving (Colossians 2:7). If you abound in thanksgiving, the joy of The LORD will rise up from your spirit. It’s already there! When things are looking bad, and worry and self-preservation and self-pity try to take over your mind, just stop and say, “Jesus, thank You for the promise of the Holy Spirit. I’m asking in Your Name, that the Holy Spirit rise up within me and reveal my Father to me in this situation. Reveal how much He loves me and how much He has given me.” Your flesh may be barking back at you saying, Why don’t you just get mad at God and everyone else? We were enjoying it when we were wallowing around in self-pity. We don’t want to hear how good God is. You just tell your flesh to shut up! Be joyful on purpose. Don’t give in to self-pity and discouragement. Make a decision to counteract them with the joy of The LORD. The joy of knowing your heavenly Father personally is the most important thing you can have. It is so vital that Jesus chose to talk to His disciples about joy when He knew that He would not have another chance to teach them again before going to Calvary. Jesus left you His joy. If He is in you, it’s in you. All you need to do is trigger it with The WORD of God, with faith and love, and the Name of Jesus. Ask whatever you need to know of the Father, and you shall receive that your joy may be made full. No one can take that from you! V 22 : BVOV