2153 The Fruit of Goodness – Fruits Part 12

2153 The Fruit of Goodness – Fruits Part 12

When we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit, our very character changes. From within, we become different. Girl, you’re simply not who you once were. Have you noticed as you change and grow it almost puts a spotlight on our loved ones who are NOT. Maybe someone you love is NOT under the influence of the Holy Spirit and they seem to be stuck in old way … well, they are. When you invite the presence of God into your life HE makes you new. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” This means if someone DOESN’T belong to Christ, they’re still the same old person living the same life. Their answer is not to try harder – their answer is to surrender their life to Jesus and let the Holy Spirit change them from within! So, here we are as surrendered souls being made new. We’re being reworked from the inside so we’re becoming different, growing different fruit in our lives. Naturally, when the inside has changed, the outside begins to change as well. Today we study the next fruit produced in our life under the influence of the Holy Spirit – GOODNESS. The Greek word translated into goodness has a root word meaning good, upright and excellent. When the suffix is added, it turns into a character trait. The full meaning of this word “goodness” means to have moral excellence, an upright heart, integrity and goodness in action. And where does this goodness come from? Only ONE source – this is God’s goodness flowing through us. This is not self-produced goodness. This isn’t a 10 step program to change your heart and realign your morals. This isn’t being kind, doing nice things, changing your morals – this is God himself expressing HIS character through your surrendered life. This is simply the goodness of God himself dwelling within, transforming you, and then naturally flowing out from you. When you surrender your life to God, HE makes you good. If you’re struggling with a twisted heart or mind, there’s ONE who is in the business of untwisting – that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. And every single one of us have gotten a little twisted. Life in this world has a way of doing that. Human nature is a twisting. We simply can’t live well without God’s influence and direction. This is NEVER a matter of you being a better person than someone else – this is always a matter of God’s almighty work within you. Without God, you would be one twisted girl living in utter darkness – and that’s just the humbling truth. The Holy Spirit changes our character to GOODNESS. He aligns our morals with God’s. He teaches us to do what is right even when no one is watching. He grows our desires in the direction of integrity. We don’t do that ourselves. Girl, if there’s goodness in you, that’s a work of God, not of you! This fruit of goodness is a growing of WHO YOU ARE. It’s an external proof of the internal transformation happening. God is GOOD. His power is good. His ways are good. His plans are good. And when your soul is surrendered to Him as Lord and He is in control of your life, then He is living inside of you, making you good. It starts with Him and flows into you. This isn’t an act of willpower on your part; this is an act of surrender. This isn’t an achievement; this is a transformation. Goodness is the overflow of abiding in Christ. The fruit isn’t something you force—it is something God grows as you remain connected to Him. Goodness starts with God. Goodness flows into you. Goodness grows through you. Goodness blesses everyone around you. If you take GOD out of GOODNESS, you are left with o-ness. If you’re trying to make yourself be good without the power of the Holy Spirit working in you, you may achieve good behavior for a while, but you’ll never produce godly goodness. Only God can produce God’s character. GOODNESS IS GOD’S CHARACTER. We try to be good without God and we just end up exhausting ourselves trying to become by effort – but this goodness is only produced through surrender to God. Do you want to be better? SURRENDER! Then the fruit of goodness will naturally grow! Jesus shows us what the goodness of God within looks like in action. Acts 10:38 puts it simply, “Jesus went around doing good.” The character of goodness always produces goodness in action. The more the Holy Spirit works his goodness in you, the more your actions align to those of Jesus. Girl, you’re going to be going around DOING GOOD! What if your entire life became about going around just doing good! You want to represent Jesus to this world – go around doing good! Let God’s goodness flow through you onto everyone you encounter! Ephesians 2:10 says we’re created to do the good things God planned for us. Doing good things doesn’t save us – But the goodness of God growing in us naturally has us going around doing good things! Think about that – do you notice that in your own journey with God? The more you grow in Jesus – the more you learn and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit – the more he has you going around doing good things! How radically cool is that? THAT’S THE FRUIT OF GOODNESS GROWING IN YOUR LIFE! So today, don’t leave our time together thinking, “I need to try harder to be good.” Leave thinking, “I need to stay closer to God.” Fruit never grows because the branch strains harder—it grows because it stays connected to the vine. The closer you live to Jesus, the more His goodness becomes your goodness. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself speaking with more integrity, loving more deeply, giving more generously, forgiving more freely, serving more joyfully, and doing good almost without thinking about it. That’s the Holy Spirit transforming your character. Girl, this world doesn’t just need more nice people. It needs more people so surrendered to Jesus that His goodness overflows into every conversation, every decision, every relationship, and every ordinary day. So stay surrendered. Stay connected. Stay under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Then go around doing good, because everywhere the goodness of God goes, darkness loses ground and people catch a glimpse of Jesus. And really that’s what it’s all about – show the world JESUS! Every act of goodness points beyond us. Every kind word, every generous act, every choice of integrity, every quiet sacrifice becomes another opportunity for someone to catch a glimpse of Jesus. So let His goodness grow in you, flow through you, and reveal Him to the world. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela [https://instagram.com/headmamapamela] Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim [https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim] Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com [http://biglifehq.com]

2152 The Fruit of Kindness – Fruits Part 11

In our study of the fruits of the Spirit, we’re understanding this isn’t a list of attributes to strive for, it’s not a checklist for being a follower of Jesus, it’s the tangible results that grow in our lives when we’re connected to God. FRUITS of the Spirit. Fruit grows. Fruit is the natural outcome of a healthy tree. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence living within us, and that Spirit changes our heart. And very naturally without force, when our heart changes, our behavior changes. We start seeing things and people differently. We start responding differently. Our priorities shift. And even our very character is changed. With the Holy Spirit, we naturally begin to grow in love, in joy, in peace and in patience. Now the next literal change we can see as the Holy Spirit works to change our hearts, we grow in KINDNESS. Galatians 5:23, “The Holy Spirit produce this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness …” The Greek word translated into kindness is chrēstotēs. This word means being a blessing wherever you go. It is more than just a smile, it is an intentional act that benefits others. This is a disposition, meaning WHO YOU ARE. Who you are is blessed and what you do is be a blessing – that is the true meaning of kindness as a fruit of the Spirit. Kindness is a focus on others that continually asks, “How can I help? How can I lift their burden? How can I bless?” Kindness takes the focus off self and sees the needs of others. When kindness sees a need, it springs into action – not for how it makes them look, but for how it makes others feel. Acts of kindness reveal the kindness of our God. Did you know scripture calls God KIND? Psalm 145: 13-20, listen to this description of our God – “The LORD always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does. The LORD helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with KINDNESS. The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. The LORD protects all those who love him …” Y’all, that’s OUR GOD! He is so genuinely KIND. He blesses us beyond measure. As a recipient of his kindness in the Holy Spirit, we then begin to grow that same kindness from within. It becomes who we are. We are blessed to be a blessing. Everywhere Jesus went, kindness followed. Think about it. He touched lepers when no one was willing to even stand next to them. As a woman caught in adultery was about to be stoned to death, he drew a line in the sand and defended her. He stood in a hungry crowd of thousands and decided he would feed them their next meal. As he hung on the cross dying the most painful death imaginable, he forgave. Kindness wasn’t something Jesus occasionally did – it was who he was. And we’re called to be more and more like Jesus. We can’t be like Jesus without being KIND. Kindness moves. Kindness responds. Kindness steps right into the messy need and gets their hands dirty. As kindness grows within us through the work of the Holy Spirit, we will no longer be able to just walk by anymore because we’re too busy. THAT’S CHANGING. The fruit of kindness changes what we see. Instead of seeing interruptions, we see opportunities. Instead of seeing differences, we see hurting people who God loves. Instead of seeing ourselves as better, we see ourselves as a vessel that carries a blessing, and that blessing is to be poured out! Imagine three people walk into a room where someone is hurting. The first person says, “I’m praying for you.” That’s compassion. The second person says, “God is with you in this.” That may be goodness. The third person says, “I brought dinner. I’ll watch your kids. I’ll mow your yard. I’ll sit with you.” That’s chrēstotēs KINDNESS. Kindness doesn’t just merely notice pain. Kindness enters it. In this world, our hearts naturally become impatient and critical. Life can make us harsh and suspicious. We can begin building our walls and our judgments. But the Holy Spirit starts tearing down those walls. The work of God’s presence living within us softens our hearts again. Here’s the thing, when you know you have been overwhelmed by totally undeserved kindness from God himself, then you can’t help but turn around and show undeserved kindness to others. If you’re amazed by the sheer kindness of Jesus, then you can’t remain indifferent toward people. Kindness changes who you are! Kindness at work within you has no limits. The Holy Spirit wants to grow kindness is you that changes absolutely everything you do. Suddenly you’ll notice the way you talk is kind. The way you drive is kind. The way you parent is kind. The way you lead is kind. They way you follow is kind. Kindness will permeate everything about you and everything you do. God’s kindness toward us becomes God’s kindness through us. It’s one of the clearest proofs that Jesus is changing your heart! As you walk with Jesus and grow in his Spirit, have you noticed yourself changing? It hasn’t been an overnight change, but a gradual growth. You don’t see things the way you used to. You can’t just walk by what you used to walk by. You’re moved by the needs of people now. You hurt when they hurt. You’re no longer serving from a self-seeking position, but a heart that has been transformed by the love of Christ. His Spirit is teaching you to love what He loves, to value what He values, and guess what that is … PEOPLE. God loves his people. God values his people. Now his Spirit teaches us to do the same. What once seemed like an interruption now becomes an opportunity to show compassion. What once felt like a burden now becomes a privilege to carry. This is the evidence of spiritual maturity—not perfection, but transformation. As God continues His work in you, your life begins to reflect His kindness, His patience, His mercy, and His grace. The more you abide in Him, the more His character is formed in you. Others may not notice every small change, but over time they begin to see Jesus in the way you speak, the way you forgive, the way you serve, and the way you love. Keep walking with Him. He is faithfully shaping you into the person He created you to be. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela [https://instagram.com/headmamapamela] Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim [https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim] Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com [http://biglifehq.com]

2151 The Fruit of Patience – Fruits Part 10

Patience is actually NOT something you lack when the Holy Spirit dwells within you. Patience is something that naturally grows within you and is produced in your life. It’s a byproduct of the presence of God. Just as an apple tree naturally grows apples, as God’s girl, you naturally grow patience. So why do you feel like you’re lacking it? Why do you still get frustrated in the waiting? Why do you still rush and push and force? Did you not get patience? The Spirit produces; but we still participate. Yes, the Holy Spirit changes our desires and empowers obedience, but God’s Word also repeatedly calls believers to “LET the Holy Spirit guide your lives” (Galatians 5:16) and to “FOLLOW the Spirit’s leading” (Galatians 5:25). If you’re not letting the Holy Spirit guide you and if you’re not actively following His leading, then you’re simply not experiencing everything He wants to grow in you. If an apple tree refused to drink the water provided through the rain, do you think it would produce the fruit it was created to grow? Of course not. So girl, you have a role in this. As you surrender to the Spirit, stay connected to God, and choose His way over your old patterns, you’ll find His fruit growing in your life. God’s job through the Holy Spirit is not to completely override your personality. His work is to transform you into the fullness of His image as you walk with Him in that transformation. You still have a choice. Sometimes, you may still choose your old impatience. Here’s the great news: Even when you’re impatient, God is not. He is patiently extending the next invitation for you to depend on Him rather than your own strength. Again and again, He offers you a better way and lovingly waits for you to choose it. God will out-wait your stubborn era. He’ll out-wait your striving. He’ll out-wait your need to control the outcome. He’ll out-wait your fear that if you don’t make something happen, nothing ever will. And really, when you boil it all down, isn’t that how you feel? You seriously think you have to make something happen or nothing will ever happen for you. You think you have to somehow get control. You think you’re going to force this. Oh sweet girl, you’re simply not that powerful. God is not anxious about your timeline because He’s not limited by time. Time is a human constraint, not a Godly constraint. When God says in Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end. I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come.” – well, he actually means that. He has always been in every yesterday and he’s already in every tomorrow. Yes, he’s already there. He has always held the entire future in his hands. We’re stuck in today, but God is not. Peter probably explained it best when he said in 2 Peter 3:8, “But you must not forget this one thing: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.” My friend, TIME IS NOT A PROBLEM FOR GOD. Your timeline is self-imposed, God is above your timeline. Even in the moments when he saw the very beginning of this for you, he was already at the very end of it too. God can do in 1 day what you and I could not do in a thousand years. And in God’s time, a thousand years is like a single day. Is God in a rush? Not at all? Has he called you to be? Not in the slightest. He has allotted your time on this Earth in advance. he knows precisely the number of days you have in this life. He has held every one of those days since the beginning of time. And as you live, he’s been teaching you to trust his timing. Can you look back and see how his timing is always perfect? Can you see how he moved mountains, opened doors, changed hearts, opened eyes, and collided worlds precisely in the best timing? Yes? He’s proven you can trust him with the timing of what is next too! But if you’ve been waiting for a while, you’re likely feeling a little anxious questioning when it’s going to happen. Your mind has likely been running off into ways you can just make things happen on your own. Don’t miss this, Sis – every delay becomes another opportunity to trust him. Every moment of waiting becomes another chance to let the Holy Spirit produce what you could never manufacture on your own. So the next time you catch yourself rushing, forcing, or growing frustrated, recognize the invitation. Pause and ask, “Holy Spirit, what would it look like to follow Your pace right now?” Woah – that’s powerful. Would you try that? Today, when you realize you’re rushing – when you realize you’re frustrated waiting in line – today when you’re trying to force things to move faster ask the Holy Spirit what it would look like to follow his pace. I bet you will feel a sense of calm rush over you. I bet all that tension in your forehead will release and your eyebrows won’t look so angry. I bet you’ll suddenly feel fresh breath fill your lungs and remind you of God’s presence. That’s what patience feels like. Patience isn’t something you’re trying squeeze out of yourself. It’s not a posture you’re trying to contort yourself into. You don’t have to beat yourself into patience. Patience is someone you’re learning to surrender to. That’s right, patience is a surrender to God’s unique way of working in the details and timing of your life. And the more you walk with Him, the more you’ll discover that patience isn’t just what He asks of you—it’s what He faithfully grows within you. I’ve always heard you should never pray for patience. Why? Because you’ll be given a dumptruck load of crap that goes wrong and takes too long so that you’re forced to be patient. Show me where that is in your Bible – it’s not there. But also notice this – Scripture never tells us to pray, “God, give me patience.” Instead, it tells us to walk with the Holy Spirit, who produces patience in us. The goal isn’t to chase the fruit – it’s to stay connected to the One who grows it. The growth of fruit happens slowly, not overnight. Apple trees don’t suddenly wake up one morning and say, “Woah, look at that full grown apple that appeared on my branches while I slept.” No, the growth happens ever so gradually and continually. That’s the way fruit grows. Patience is a slow-growing fruit. Perhaps it’s been growing so slowly in you that you haven’t even noticed it’s development. But look back and see the evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Do you recover more quickly than you used to? Wow – that’s the fruit of patience growing in your life. Do you now pray instead of exploding? Yip – that’s the fruit of patience growing in your life. Do you actually apologize now? Hey girl, that’s growth right there! Do you trust God more deeply that you once did? Oh yeah, there’s the fruit of patience growing! Scripture is filled with faithful people who had to wait. Waiting for freedom. Waiting for a baby. Waiting for change. Waiting for victory. Waiting for healing. Faith doesn’t erase the experience of waiting. It changes HOW we wait. May you wait more like a girl who trusts the God who is in complete control. May you wait more like a girl who trusts her good, good Father. May you wait more like a girl who knows that what God has promised, He will be faithful to fulfill. May you wait with peace instead of panic, with expectation instead of anxiety, and with open hands instead of clenched fists. Because waiting isn’t wasted when you’re waiting with God. He’s working in the waiting. He’s shaping your heart in the waiting. He’s growing something in you and preparing something for you in the waiting. So don’t rush what God is asking you to trust. Don’t force what God has asked you to surrender. His timing has never been late, and His plans have never needed your panic to come to pass. Wait well, sweet girl. The God who holds your future is holding you, too. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela [https://instagram.com/headmamapamela] Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim [https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim] Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com [http://biglifehq.com]

2150 The Fruit of Peace – Fruits Part 9

The fruits of the spirit are the direct results of God’s presence in our lives. It’s the natural byproduct produced from within us when God’s Holy Spirit lives in us. Today we study the 3rd evidence that grows like fruit on a tree. Galatians 5:23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, PEACE …” Peace. In Greek, Jesus would have often used the word ‘shalom’. It means completeness, wholeness, everything being as God intended it to be – nothing missing and nothing broken. So when Paul says the Holy Spirit grows peace, he’s not talking about someone who simply doesn’t get upset. He’s talking about a soul that has been made WHOLE by God. This is not a guarantee of an easy life. This is not peace that comes through an absence of trouble. Oh no, Sis. This is a peace that remains regardless of the trouble. This is a divine calm in the storm and a guard for our heart in the heat of the battle. The world says, “I’ll have peace when…” When the bills are paid. When the diagnosis changes. When my kids finally straighten up. When the relationship gets better. When life slows down. But the Holy Spirit says, “You can have peace now.” Not because everything around you is settled, but because the One within you is settled. Before facing the cross, Jesus tells his disciples that he is about to die and would no longer walk with them, but God would give them another Advocate who would never leave them. He is the Holy Spirit. God’s presence to live within them, teach them and guide them. Further describing this divine internal presence that’s so hard to understand, Jesus says in John 14:27, “I’m leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. There’s absolutely nothing you can do to produce this peace for yourself. There’s no meditation or deep breathing that brings this peace. There’s no soundtrack for this, no magical place on a mountaintop or hidden away in the woods. No, this peace isn’t found in the world or in yourself. It is ONLY through the presence of the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to work for it, you simply have to abide in Christ and this unspeakable peace grows. Peace isn’t pretending everything is okay. It’s knowing that even when everything isn’t okay, God still is. As I mentioned last week, while at our Lake Retreat, one of our really special BIG Life girls received the phone call that her husband had died. While her whole world is absolutely shattered and she has walked through this unimaginable and unexpected loss for the past week, something remarkable has happened. She has literally felt God strengthening her. When she can’t catch her breath, she says she can feel God breathing into her. In this time where nothing makes sense, not even the time of day, there is a settled peace living inside of her. My friends, that is the Holy Spirit. Have you ever experienced that level of peace? Peace that Philippians 4:7 says, “exceeds anything we can understand. Peace that will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” It’s a settled knowing from within when everything else is spinning out of control. It’s an anchor for your soul that holds you steady when the waves come crashing against you. But this peace isn’t reserved for times of trouble. This peace can be your constant. On the bad days and the good days. In the highs just as much as in the lows. You know when you need the peace of the Holy Spirit? … in the battle and in victory. In the storm and in the blissful sunshine. The truth is, without God’s peace, you can be sitting in the most beautiful day of life and be radically upset. Without God’s peace you can miss the goodness of the moment and be all stirred up about things that aren’t even a real threat. Are you in a reasonably good season of life right now? Did you wake up today without crisis or deep grief? Pause for a moment and think about that. You’re okay today. Your people okay are today. Let your mind settle in peace. You don’t have to manufacture the next thing to worry about. You don’t have to busy yourself. You can sit here in this peace and let it wash over you. PEACE CAN BE YOUR CONSTANT. When the Holy Spirit is living inside of you, this level of peace naturally grows in your life. You wake up with this peace. You walk in this peace. You are held steady in this peace. You move forward in this peace. You rest in this peace. And you know what else you do – YOU BRING PEACE TO EVERY TABLE YOU SET AT. Girl, that’s what your family needs! That’s what your office needs. That’s what your neighborhood needs. They don’t need you to be the one with all the answers and solutions. They don’t need you to be the one that takes charge and creates radical change. Actually what they need is for you to bring the gift Jesus brought to his disciples on the night before the cross. THE GIFT OF PEACE. Think about that – how can you offer the gift of peace today? It is a gift you can give because it’s growing in your life. Have you ever seen an apple tree straining and groaning trying to push out apples? No. It simply stays rooted. The fruit is evidence of the life inside it. That’s our job too. Stay rooted in Jesus. The Holy Spirit grows the fruit. If I’m an apple tree growing apples, I can easily offer you an apple. I can’t offer you a ribeye steak because that’s not what’s growing on my limbs. But as an apple tree, I can always give you an apple. And it’s really that simple. As God’s girl with the very presence of God within, you’re growing peace on your limbs. Peace during the good and peace during the bad. Peace in the storm and peace in the calm. You can always offer peace. It’s not your calling to bring the freak-out. Freak-out doesn’t grow in the life of a girl carrying around the Holy Spirit. It’s not your calling to bring the negativity. Negativity doesn’t grow in the life of a girl carrying around the Holy Spirit. It’s not your calling to bring the drama. Drama doesn’t grow in the life of a girl carrying around the Holy Spirit. It’s not your calling to spread fear. Fear doesn’t grow in the life of a girl carrying around the Holy Spirit. Your calling is to bring the peace. PEACE GROWS IN THE LIFE OF A GIRL CARRYING AROUND THE HOLY SPIRIT! Peace in your home. Peace in your office. Peace in your neighborhood. Peace in your car. Peace everywhere you go. Don’t be a thermometer that only reflects the temperature of the room. Be a thermostat that changes it. When everyone else is anxious, you stay steady. When everyone else is panicking, you stay prayerful. When everyone else is arguing, you stay peaceful. Why? Because you’re carrying the Holy Spirit. Every room you walk into has an atmosphere. Some rooms feel tense. Some feel fearful. Some feel angry. Some feel rushed. But because the Prince of Peace lives in you, every room you enter has the opportunity to become more peaceful simply because you showed up. Show up today and bring PEACE WITH YOU AS YOUR PLUS ONE! Hey girl, it’s me, plus PEACE today! I interrupt your chaos with God’s peace. I interrupt your stress with God’s peace. I interrupt your worry with God’s peace. Don’t confuse peace with being passive. Jesus had perfect peace—and He still walked straight toward the cross. Peace doesn’t make you weak. Peace makes you unshakable. Imagine what would happen if every daughter of God decided today: “Wherever I go, peace goes.” Into my marriage… peace goes. Into my parenting… peace goes. Into my workplace… peace goes. Into the waiting room… peace goes. Into the hard conversation… peace goes. Into the celebration… peace goes. Why? Because I carry the Holy Spirit. I don’t have to manufacture peace. I don’t have to chase peace. I don’t have to wait for peace. I carry Peace Himself. And wherever the Spirit of God lives, the fruit of peace grows. You are a soul who has been made whole by God, so you have PEACE. SHALOM. With God, everything is as it should be. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela [https://instagram.com/headmamapamela] Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim [https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim] Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com [http://biglifehq.com]

2149 The Fruit of JOY – Fruits Part 8

Joy is one expression of the life of Jesus growing within us. What exactly is joy? It’s deep, not surface level. It is permanent, not circumstantial. It’s a settled confidence, not a mood. It’s a spiritual strength, not a changing emotion. And this joy, according to Nehemiah 8:10, is the source of your strength. Joy is supernatural, not natural. The source of joy is God – not a personality type, not positive thinking patterns. No, joy is the result of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within you. The closer we remain to Jesus, the more joy grows in our lives. Not by force, not by will, but by connection. The world searches for joy through outside sources. We look in relationships, and we’re left disappointed. We strive for success, and we’re left stressed. We think joy is found in having money, then we realize we always want more. We look to entertainment and we’re left empty. We think joy is found on vacation, then the vacation ends and it’s back to regular life and where’s the joy in that? None. Joy is not found out here. So where is joy found? Psalm 16:11 tells us where joy is and it’s very clear. “In your presence, Lord, there is fullness of joy.” And because the Holy Spirit within us is the literal presence of God, we are carrying the SOURCE of JOY. It’s not out here in anything external, created or strived for, it’s right inside of us. It’s God in us! He is our source of joy. This is why it’s possible to have joy wherever we go, whatever we go through, regardless of circumstances – we carry the joy with us. We have the SOURCE – that is the presence of God. There’s a difference between happiness and joy. Some times are simply not happy times. Some times we hurt, some times we grieve. And yet joy remains. How is that possible? Joy depends on one thing – God within you. And guess what, he’s not leaving! So joy is always present regardless of the season or the circumstance. Happiness depends on what happens. Happiness changes hourly. But joy abides and survives tragedy. Even on the cross, Jesus was filled with joy. Even in agony, joy was within. Hebrews 12:2, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross.” With eyes set on the joy of fulfilling his purpose and completing his mission of saving YOU, he endured and he remained. He held the perfect power to take himself down from that cross at any moment, yet he remained, and he remained with the joy of knowing God’s goodness through it all. Jesus shows us how to endure, how to suffer, how to go through the very hardest of times. He doesn’t run. He doesn’t hide. He doesn’t try to change it. He endures it with joy set before him. God was right there with him, therefore he had supernatural joy to stay in the moment and fulfill his purpose. That’s what the Holy Spirit does in our lives – He helps us look forward knowing this is temporary and eternal promises are ahead. The Holy Spirit reminds us of God’s good plans and his perfect track record of fulfilling them. Joy is not the absence of sorrow – sometimes sorry and joy are present at the same time. The Holy Spirit teaches us to hold grief in one hand while still holding joy in the other. Here’s the truth, at any given moment, someone is having the absolute best day of their life. At that same moment, someone else is experiencing the absolute worst day of their life. And here we are in the middle of it all. What do we do with that? With the power of the Holy Spirit, we faithfully hold both. Last weekend at retreat, in the middle of all our fun, all our happiness, all our games, all our laughter, one of our BIG Life girls received the phone call that changed absolutely everything for her. Her husband had just died at home. He was gone and she was states away there with us. Oh the grief that overtook her. The pain that was palpable in the room. We fell to our knees with no words, only breathing out the name of YAHWEH. And let me tell you from that experience, I see how when life hits that hard, you want to be surrounded by people like that! You want your army of girls who can lay on the floor with you, then help pick you back up. You want your people who can pray with you and walk with you. Once we had her fully cared for and being escorted by the right girls back home, we were left in a house that had just held so much sorrow. What do you do after that? How do you salvage a weekend retreat when tragedy has hit for one among you? Well my friends, JOY IS STILL THERE. We had ourselves a real life lesson of holding grief in one hand and joy in the other. What did we do? We lived. We allowed God’s joy to well up from within us and we intentionally chose to create memories. The weekend was not wasted. That’s the reality we live in. If we’re waiting for perfect moments where everyone and everything is all good, then we spend our whole lives waiting while life passes by. We can hold grief with one hand and joy with the other. Jesus showed us how on the cross. 2 Corinthians 6:10, “Our hearts ache, but we always have joy.” We grieve with hope. We cry with confidence. We hurt without despair. The Holy Spirit gives joy that coexists with tears. The Spirit gives joy that coexists with tears. There’s this strange little verse in the Bible that sometimes doesn’t make sense – James 1:2, “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” This isn’t a command to enjoy suffering – this is a reminder that we can rejoice because we KNOW God is accomplishing something through whatever we go through. We can set our eyes on the joy ahead, just as Jesus did. God is doing something good. We can trust that always. Whatever you may be going through, joy can grow here. Joy grows whenever eternity becomes more real than temporary pain. That’s how the Holy Spirit constantly lifts our eyes upward. There’s so much more than what we see and know here – we can count on that! And when we live in that awareness, joy grows. The joy of the Holy Spirit is not shallow optimism or denial of hardship. It is the settled delight that comes from knowing God, trusting His character, walking in His presence, and seeing life through the lens of eternity. As you abide in Christ and yield to the Spirit, this joy is not something you force—it becomes something the Spirit steadily grows within you, enabling you to rejoice even when circumstances remain unchanged. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela [https://instagram.com/headmamapamela] Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim [https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim] Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com [http://biglifehq.com]