By: Woman of Joy-
Brittany Tate
Living Truth Collective
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Life is hard. To be honest, there are days that seem to be so saturated in darkness that any hope for joy seems to be lost.
I don’t want to seem like a naysayer, or even to dissuade the current state of your mood. I wish I could wake up each day to the birds chipping, the sun shining, and music playing in my heart. And to be honest, there are times I have those days and trust me, I rejoice in them.
But often for me, days can be a real struggle. I can easily become overwhelmed with thoughts that want to control me and give way to a downward spiral in my mind. I become so bombarded by my inadequacies that I begin to think I have no purpose.
Do you have days like that? Do you often have lies that echo in your mind so loudly that it drowns the soft whispers of God’s Truths? It’s easy to do sometimes, isn’t it?
The truth is, I didn’t arrive at this place by happenstance. No, there’s been many dark valleys in my life and many dark seasons I have walked through – many reasons I could say I have no joy.
Let me take you down a brief road to my last three years – I have: had a baby (our fourth), struggled with post-partum depression and anxiety, struggled mentally over the shutdown of COVID-19, lost my dad suddenly due to a heart attack, walked through a year of debilitating mental stress, lost my sister suddenly to cancer, had another baby (fifth), struggled still with post-partum depression and anxiety, and recently been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder due to the stress on my body and my mind.
Remember me saying life was hard?
It can be so easy to look around and see the pain and struggles and forget that there is joy to be found. Trust me, I get it. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned through the valleys it’s that joy can not only be found but, it’s saturated within the very midst of our struggles.
"But if there’s one thing I’ve learned through the valleys it’s that joy can not only be found but, it’s saturated within the very midst of our struggles."
You see, we live in a world that is so full of heartache and darkness; a place where pain is inevitable. It won’t be until Jesus returns and this earth is restored that we’ll experience the completeness of joy through the fullness of God’s glory that will be revealed to us.
But it’s here, on this side of Heaven, we await patiently as our minds, bodies, and souls are constantly being transformed for that coming restoration. It’s here that God prepares us for our destiny as he slowly weans our hearts of this world and draws them closer to Him. And, it’s here, in the midst of this broken world, among the heartache, pain, and darkness that fills it, that we are made aware of our limits.
You may have days that are overwhelmed with thoughts that echo in your mind. You may have days you feel bombarded by your inadequacies. You may have days that seem to be so saturated in darkness that any hope for joy seems to be lost.
Friend, I want to tell you that it’s OK. There are limitations to being human and the burdens of this world were never meant for you to carry. But it’s here when we realize our limitations that we’re made aware of our weaknesses. And it’s in our weaknesses that we are constantly being met with the relentless grace and sustaining power of Jesus Christ.
It’s among our valleys, as our own thoughts are echoing loudly in our minds, that God gently leans in and softly whispers, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”
Friend, this is where joy is found – knowing that we have a Mighty God, the Sustainer of our soul and the Perfecter of our faith, stepping in when we don’t have to strength to go any further and carrying us by His power alone. It’s not about your abilities or strength to endure. No, it never has been. God’s power fills us for the glory and honor of His name. The more we boast about God in our weakness, the more we are left in complete wonder and awe of Him.
"God’s power fills us for the glory and honor of His name."
There have been many dark valleys in my life and many dark seasons I have walked through but, through each one God has shown me that He is Sovereign, He is Mighty, and He is so full of love. Though I walk through the darkest valleys, I know that He is with me. He will comfort me, guide me, and give me peace. Because of God, not only do I have joy but in Him alone, I choose joy because even in my weakness, His grace has always been sufficient for me.
-Woman of Joy: Brittany Tate
ABOUT BRITTANY
Writer, speaker, and lover of all things dark chocolate, Brittany Tate, has a sincere passion for equipping women with God’s Truth. She is the owner and founder of Living Truth Collective, a ministry centered on encouraging and equipping women with God’s Truth through jewelry, blogs, devotionals, and biblical community. She has mentored women for years while working at a Crisis Pregnancy Center and currently serves as a Women’s Ministry leader at her church. She is a wife, a mom of five, and has a passion for women to know and experience the love of Jesus.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BRITTANY AND LIVING TRUTH BELOW
WEBSITE: WWW.LIVINGTRUTHCO.COM
INSTAGRAM: @livingtruthcollective
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/livingtruthjewelry
Thank you so much for taking the time to read February's blog in the Women of JOY series. I pray that it inspires you and empowers you as you seek to find true JOY in Christ alone in any and all circumstances!
The Women of JOY blog series will offer you the pleasure of hearing from a different Woman of Joy on the last Monday of each month.
What about you? Are you a Woman of JOY with a story that you would like to share? I would love to hear about your journey of finding JOY in Jesus and consider you as a contributor to this series.
Simply email me at: jennifer@joyfullyhis.org
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