A Sailboat and Joy

One ship sails east
One ship sails west
Regardless of how the winds blow.
It is the set of the sail
And not the gale
That determines the way we go.
(Ella Wheeler Wilcox)

God is not a god of coincidence. Have you ever noted that? He has a defined purpose and plan for each of us. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

So if you have been following my journey you know that I have been traveling on the road to healing from a long visit in the desert. And it seems that everywhere I turn I am confronted by the word "joy". Every sermon I have listened to the past few days has had as their focus the book of Philippians and the joy that the apostle Paul wrote about. Then today on my igoogle site where I have quotes from Two Listeners it said "Go forward you are beginning a new Life. Joy, Joy, Joy." Okay, God - I hear you.

The poem that I put at the top is one that I heard today and wanted to share. It is all about choice. As I wrote yesterday, I choose joy. My sail is set on the journey toward joy. But, I am not going into this blindly. I realize that the journey toward joy is one that may be fraught with sorrow. Sorrow and joy kind of go hand in hand. We really want the joy - but who wants the sorrow?

Isaiah 51:11 The ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

God's word promises us that sorrow and sighing will flee away. We will overcome the sorrow and sighing of this time when the Lord returns. It may be hard now though when the sorrow weighs so heavily upon us. This is when I believe that God wants us to trust Him and choose joy. This is where faith comes in. This is where despite my circumstances I will choose joy. I will continue to set my sail and choose the path of joy. I will have faith in God because He has proven Himself to be trustworthy and faithful to me.

All of this reminds me of the song I sang when I was little. I taught this to my kids too. I wonder if it is sung very much any more. If not - let's bring it back! Get on the joy path!

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart
where?
down in my heart
where?
down in my heart.
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart
down in my heart to stay!!!