(As one who teaches and inspires inmates at a correctional center, Tami White is no stranger to encountering people in difficult situations. She attends New Heights Church in Farmington, MO.)
I got the opportunity to go to Haiti after the earthquake in 2010. Driving from the airport to where we were staying, I saw piles of bricks that used to be buildings and police and soldiers throughout the city. There were mounds, huge mounds of trash and garbage and PEOPLE. People with tents and tarps lining the streets. When we got to the compound, I noticed that across the road there was a camp. A tent city on a big hill of rocks.
The next morning, we went up there. We played games with the kids, sang songs and tried to communicate with the happy people. Yes, full of joy! As I walked around I noticed 4 women walking around with one very pregnant woman. She was in labor. There was a small tent with a cot set up and that was where she would have her baby. The ladies were singing and talking about this much loved baby she was getting ready to have. You could see the joy on their faces and hear the joy in their voices. I was thinking, "it is 100+ degrees and she was going to give birth on a cot in a tent. How uncomfortable!" I’m not sure that I would have much joy!
When we returned later, her baby had been born and they were so thankful! They couldn’t wait to show the baby to us. They were filled with joy. With all of the death from the earthquake, they were glad to be alive and had such love for this new baby. I thought about their circumstances. Would I have joy in the same circumstances?
John 15:11 says “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow.” NLT. Jesus wants us to have an abundant life filled with joy. He has given us examples of how to follow him even in dire circumstances. The word joy appears over 100 times in the Old Testament and there are 159 verses about joy in the Bible. Joy must be important.
The bible says that God gives us joy and peace. Real joy comes from God and is ours. No matter our circumstances, let’s be filled with God’s joy and let it overflow!
