In Joshua Chapter 6, we read the story of the fall of the city of Jericho. The Israelites had crossed the Jordan River and entered the land promised to them by God, the land of Canaan. However, they faced a major obstacle - the city of Jericho. This fortified city was standing in the way of the Israelites being able to move further into Canaan. They had to destroy it to be able to move further into the land. Upon God’s instruction, Joshua commanded the priests carrying the ark of the covenant and the army, to silently march around the city once for six days. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing trumpets. The seventh time, the priests were to give a long blow on the trumpets, the army was to give a shout and the walls of the city would collapse. When they had done all of this and the walls collapsed, they swarmed into the city and destroyed and burned it but saved a prostitute and her family because she had helped them when they came to spy out the city and the land.
    There is no logical reason why walls as thick and as fortified as the walls of Jericho should collapse simply by marching around it. Yet, when God is in it, anything impossible becomes possible. The reality is that the city of Jericho was a strong city preventing the Israelites from being able to move further into Canaan. The city was strategically positioned and fortified so that intruders could not easily enter Canaan. Yet, God was with Israel, and not even the strongest of fortifications could prevent them from receiving what God had promised them. 
    When you think about it in this light, it means that nothing that the enemy sends your way, could truly prevent you from receiving God’s will for you. The enemy may be able to delay or hinder you, but only for a time. He cannot stand in your way forever. It’s about trusting God to bring to pass His promise, His Word in your life and in His time.
    What’s also interesting is that the Israelites had already faced a major obstacle as they tried to enter the land of Canaan - the Jordan River (Joshua 3:7-17). At the time they were ready to enter Canaan, it was that time of the year when the Jordan River burst its banks. I have seen a video or two on this overflow and believe me, it is not a place that you would want to cross especially with women and children. It would have been easier to cross that river when it had not overflown its banks. But the thing with God is that the more impossible the situation, the more His power and might are evident. God will never put us through a situation He cannot handle. We may not be able to handle it, but He can. So, the Jordan River experience would have been one way to strengthen their faith in God for what lay ahead - the city of Jericho. God will always allow tough situations to strengthen our faith in Him. God gave them the breakthrough at the Jordan River and in so doing prepared them to be confident that He would give them another breakthrough at the city of Jericho. 
    The thing is, we don’t like impossible situations. Yes, we may know that God is able and that He can bring us through but I don’t think we actually like what we have to go through to experience this reality. The sight of the Jordan River’s overflowed banks and rushing waters may have looked intimidating to the Israelites. The reality of Jericho standing in their way may have also been intimidating to them. But the reality is that each time, God gave them strategies to help them overcome. The God of breakthrough showed them exactly how to make it successfully through each obstacle they faced. What was impossible for them to accomplish was certainly not impossible for their God. God did it for them - each time - and He will do the same for you.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God knows that this life will at times bring impossible situations your way. But He also knows that He is able to handle every impossible situation that comes your way. He is still the God of the breakthrough, the God who will enable you to successfully navigate every obstacle, every challenge you may face. Be encouraged. 
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    While thinking of what to write for this blog, I pulled up a song that had been shared with me some time ago. It’s entitled “Joy Comes In The Morning” sung by Martha Borg. I had actually heard it earlier in the day and felt led to play it again … on repeat! At some point I realised that it fell within my theme for this month - the God of Joy.
    The first verse of the song says:
    Tears often fall on my face in sorrow
    And as I walk on through the long, lonely nights
    Often I cry when it seems no one hears me
    Then through the shadows I can see the dawning of light
Can you relate? We have all faced challenging seasons. During those times, we may have often felt as if there was no way out, that we would die right there in that wilderness. And maybe in those down times of discouragement and despair, we may have cried out to God: “God how long? God when?” You may have felt as if you were in a pit with a lid on it that you couldn’t push out of the way to allow you to escape. This paints a pretty discouraging picture but maybe you can understand. Yet, this verse ends on words that suggest hope and the possibility that you are going to make it out. 
    But the chorus of this song is what touches me. 
    Hold on my child joy comes in the morning
    Weeping only lasts for the night
    Hold on my child joy comes in the morning
    The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight
It means that no matter how dark things look, when God is in that cave, that valley, that dark place with you, you will make it! God is not standing by watching you suffer and be in distress. Rather, He is right there with you. He’s actually giving you the comfort and strength and grace you need to endure. Yes, He will bring you out in His time, but just know that the darkest part of your story will also be your most powerful.
    Jesus’ victory would not have been impactful if He had not gone through death and a brief time in hell. His victory was meaningful because He didn’t stay where He was, He broke out of that dark place. It could not hold Him down. It could not keep Him back. It could not stop Him from fulfilling His purpose for coming to this earth. In fact, that was exactly His purpose - to conquer death, hell and the grave and to offer us eternal life!
    In Psalm 30:5 we read these powerful words: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Interestingly, when we look at the first three verses of that Psalm, the psalmist is giving thanks and praise to God for what He has done for him: He did not allow his enemies to rejoice over him, He healed him, He delivered him from death and hell. He also reminds us at the beginning of verse 5 that God’s anger is but for a moment and His favour is for a lifetime. The final lines in verse 5 sum it all up as a reminder to us that no matter what we are going through and how long it takes for deliverance to come, negative situations don’t last because God will always come through for us, specifically for those of us who choose to put our trust in Him. 
    The night truly doesn’t last, neither do trials. Just as morning surely comes without fail or delay, just so your deliverance will come. It’s about having hope in the God of joy who will never leave you nor forsake you when you are going through difficult situations; the God of joy who will give you grace as needed; the God of joy who will rescue you. It’s about His timing, His way of delivering, His way of bringing His own Word to pass. Just trust Him.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. The God of joy will come through for you. He will not leave you hopeless or helpless. At the right time, the light of hope will burst through your darkness and bring the deliverance you need. Be encouraged.

    In the book of Genesis, we read the story of Joseph, one of the sons of Israel. He is favoured by his father because he was the son of his old age. Unfortunately, this favour incited the jealousy of his brothers who hated him even more when he had a dream suggesting he would rule over them. So, when the opportunity came, they sold him to traders, who were on their way to Egypt. They lied to their father making him believe that he had been killed by a wild animal.
​   Joseph faced both favour and challenges while in Egypt. Even when he found himself in prison because of false accusation, God’s favour covered him. When God gave Pharaoh a dream and only Joseph could interpret it as well as assist in the fulfilment of the dream, he was elevated to a high position in that country. This gave him the opportunity to provide help for his family in their time of need.
    The story of Joseph is a very interesting one. It is filled with all the twists and turns of a modern day drama. Yet, a closer look at this story reveals God’s hand at every turn. By the end of the story, you are able to see how God was very actively involved in putting every piece together to bring about a very desirable ending. 
    Joseph’s life may have been one of favour, evident through his father, the Egyptian officer, Potiphar, the jail keeper, and last of all Pharaoh himself. Yet, on his way to greatness, he encountered challenges, discouragement and disappointment. To be sold by his brothers to traders could not have been easy. To be sent to a foreign land away from the father he loved could have been downright difficult. I am sure he experienced times of confusion wondering what was happening and why. I believe he may have even experienced times of pain and bitterness when he faced unfair treatment. He went through a very long season possibly filled with fear, uncertainty, doubt and discouragement. 
    I am sure we have all been through tough seasons - and may still be going through such seasons - where things were so difficult that you were not sure to make it through. It’s one thing to know that God is able, that God is the God of the impossible, but when you are in the midst of it and can see no way out, your faith can be pretty low. You see it happen for other people but wonder when and if it will happen for you too. You may even feel happy for others who make it through their difficult times but wonder if you will make it through yours. I’m just being real because this is where you are reminded that serving God doesn’t mean that your bed of roses doesn’t have thorns. And sometimes, the thorns seem much more pronounced than the roses. 
    Maybe that is how Joseph felt many times. He knew God was with him but could see no way of returning home to the family that he missed. Yet, God’s Word says that He works all things together for our good. God took both the good and the bad that Joseph experienced and turned it out for good. I believe that God used this experience to work on some things in Joseph’s life that needed to be worked on. He was preparing him for the realisation of his dream. 
    But what I love about God is this: He is the God of joy. After all that He allowed Joseph and his family to go through, He brought joy! He brought joy back into Jacob’s life when he discovered that his son Joseph was not dead after all but very much alive! He brought joy back into Joseph’s life because the family he thought he would never see again, he not only saw again, but was the means of providing a home for them right where he lived! And his brothers? God brought joy to them when they experienced forgiveness from the very person who had every right to hate them and treat them like they had him. He chose to forgive them and provided provisions and security. Only God!
    No matter how bad things may seem, no matter if it seems like there is no way out, you may even feel like you will die right there in your wilderness, can I say this? You won’t! You will survive and thrive. You  will make it through and come out alive. And on top of it all, you will experience God’s joy! In fact, it doesn’t matter what is happening around you or in you, in God’s presence there is fullness of joy and at His right hand, pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). The God of joy does not stop being who He is because life gets hard. No! The God of joy is your strength, your song, your praise no matter what comes your way. Be encouraged!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour I encourage you to do so today. The God of joy is ever-present, always willing and able to help you when you need Him. Trust Him to do what no one else can. Trust His joy to be your strength when you need it.

    In Luke 15:8-9, we read the story of a woman who had ten silver coins. She unfortunately lost one of them. She consequently lights a lamp, sweeps the house and begins a diligent and desperate search for that coin. When she finally finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours telling them to rejoice because she had found her lost coin. 
    To understand her desperate search, you have to understand the significance and value of that coin. One might say that she had only lost one, she still had nine more. But that wasn’t how she saw it. For one thing, the coin she lost was called a drachma, a silver coin equivalent to a Roman denarii and whose value was equivalent to a day’s wage. Yet, for a woman in that culture it carried even greater value. Traditionally, a woman was given ten silver coins as a wedding gift. These she would sew into a headband or necklace. It was pretty much like a wedding ring and was a symbol of the woman’s marital status and security. Finding that coin was therefore of great importance to that woman.
    Have you ever lost something of great value? To what lengths did you go to find it? I think many of us know what it’s like to suffer loss of some kind. It may be the loss of a loved one, the loss of a relationship, the loss of an item of value. In this story, the context points to God’s love for us and His diligent pursuit of us. Before coming into a relationship with Him, God diligently pursues us desiring a relationship He knows will bring a sense of worth and security we so desperately desire. Even when we reject Him, even when we don’t desire Him, that does not stop Him from reaching out earnestly to us. 
    I remember a number of years ago, when I had moved away from my relationship with God, I realised somewhere along the way, that God still loved me and wanted me to come back into a right relationship with Him. Even when it was difficult for me to make that step myself, God was more than willing and able to help me find my way back to Him. But can I tell you, God was not the only one who rejoiced when I rededicated my life to Him? I too experienced joy. The Bible talks about the angels in heaven rejoicing when one sinner comes to repentance (Luke 15:10). That tells me that God loves us so much, He is excited when we make that step to commit or even recommit our lives to Him! Imagine that! The God of the universe is excited when we choose to serve Him! We may feel so insignificant, even invisible before this great God but God does not see us as invisible or unimportant. He loves us that much!
    But, as I said, I too, experienced joy. I had been experiencing so much depression at times because of moving away from Him that when I returned to Him and He welcomed me with open arms, I guess it overwhelmed me. God loved me even though I had not been faithful to Him. God loved me even though I had chosen other gods over Him. He. loved. me. I couldn’t and still can’t do a thing to change that and neither can you. That in itself is a source of joy. 
    So, I encourage you today to choose the God that is a guaranteed source of joy. Just knowing that He would choose you over and over again should make you feel encouraged and secure in His love for you.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God would go to any lengths to reach us and to bring us into a secure place in Him. He is still the source of our joy no matter what life sends our way. Be encouraged.​

    In Genesis Chapter 12, God instructs Abraham, formerly Abram, to leave his country and his father’s household and to go to the land He would direct him to. He promised to make him a great nation, that his name would be blessed and that he would be blessed and be a blessing to others. Abraham was seventy-five years old when God spoke to him.
    The problem was that Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was barren and she was past child-bearing age. God, however, promised Abraham that his offspring would inherit the land of Canaan to which He was directing him. Abraham and Sarah had no idea how God was going to do it. They even tried to make God’s Word come to pass through Sarah’s handmaiden, Hagar. Hagar was able to bear Abraham a son, but God did not accept this child as the child of promise. God was going to do the impossible through his wife, Sarah, and cause her to bear a child in her old age. 
    Twenty-five years after His promise, Sarah, at ninety years old, gave birth to her first-born son, Isaac. God did what was impossible for man to do. 
    At the time God spoke to Abraham, both he and his wife had most likely already given up on the thought of having children. They were both advanced in age and were probably simply content with their situation. Have you ever been in a situation where things were not working out the way you had hoped and planned and you simply became comfortable with how things were? You were past the stage of disappointment, even past the stage of hope and you simply chose to be content. Abraham and his wife were most likely not even thinking about children anymore. And then, God came on the scene. 
    What I find interesting is that God chose a barren couple to fulfil His will. He could have chosen a couple, much younger in age and able to easily have children. But He did not. God chose an impossible situation to do an impossible thing. You may look at your life and at your situation and all you see is the “impossible.” You can’t see yourself past your limitations and challenges. But here’s the thing - God can take all that you are not and do something great and excellent with it. When people may look at you and also see what’s impossible, God does not see the way man sees. God is able to do amazing things with an ordinary life, amazing things with a broken life, amazing things with a life that doesn’t seem to have much to offer. Here’s the key - God can do it!
    But the key thing with this story is the fact that God can bring joy out of unexpected situations. When we’re not looking for it, when we’re not expecting it, God can bring joy through unexpected miracles and blessings. That’s the God we serve. God delights in putting a smile on our face and joy in our hearts. He delights to do what He knows we can’t do on our own. Imagine Sarah’s joy at being able to produce life when she thought that this opportunity was gone. Imagine her joy at no longer being negatively labeled by society because of barrenness. Imagine her joy at the fact that what God had promised, He had brought to pass … not them! They couldn’t do it but they had connected with a God who could!    
    Yet, it doesn’t stop there. They named their son “Isaac” which means “laughter.” And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh and all who hear will laugh with me.” She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.” (Genesis 21:6-7) Imagine here Sarah’s joy that she was able to provide a child for her husband and not have to rely on anyone else to do it for him. God sees the secret pain and disappointment of our hearts that no one else sees. 
    Yes, God is love but He is also joy, turning impossible situations around thus bringing joy to our hearts and lives. As I love to say, God sees, God hears, God knows and He will answer when we least expect it and in ways we least expect. Be encouraged!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God delights in replacing our sorrow with joy, in sending unexpected blessings our way. He loves us and has a beautiful plan for our lives. Just trust Him!