Waiting patiently for something is not an activity I do well…not even close. Waiting on my email to load, awful! Waiting on my food order, the pits! Waiting on God…the most challenging part of my journey of faith! We live in a hustle-and-grind culture where waiting is seen as lazy or not the best use of our time. However, when we have unanswered prayers and questions about which move to make next, the waiting we must endure seems horrific. If you’ve grown up or around the church, you probably remember being told things like not to worry, take heart, and similar cliche Christian phrases because there is a plan, a reason for this season, and even God is having you wait for something better.

At the end of May, I completed a three-day fast. It was my first ever fast from food. For over a month, I had sensed the Lord pulling on my heart to undertake the spiritual discipline of fasting. But to be honest, I was very intimidated by it. I didn’t know how I would be able to give up food for three days straight. How would I deal with the hunger? Would I have enough energy to go about my daily schedule? What symptoms would I experience? Despite my hesitation, I knew I couldn’t ignore what the Lord wanted to teach me.

In a world with so much to worry and be anxious about, where chaos and division are rampant, I find myself deeply desiring and seeking peace of mind. Thankfully, I have a relationship with Jesus, who gives me supernatural peace. Thank you, Lord! But of course, the enemy loves to sneak into our lives and steal our peace when possible. So what are some ways that we can guard our peace of mind and promote a peaceful existence? One way I’ve found is through being patient!

This year I decided to step back from the endless scrolling on social media and focus on prioritizing my spiritual health. I want to ensure I am fully present and engaged in my relationship with God without distractions. It's been a game-changer, and I feel much more centered on God and at peace. I realized that the more time I spent scrolling, the less time I wanted to spend with my Savior in the sacred moments of prayer. Apathy secretly crept into the places of my heart where adoration for Jesus once soared.

Are you feeling stuck waiting on an answer from the Lord? Do you feel like this season will never pass? I completely understand and empathize with you because I have been and continue to go through seasons of waiting where my patience is tested. My grandmother used to gently remind me that, ‘Patience is a virtue.’ I would look at her puzzled and just nod my head hoping I wouldn’t get another lecture on how impatient I was behaving. Over the years I have been known to have zero patience so let’s just say I heard my grandmother's catch phrase almost daily!

We’ve all heard the word joy and it is considered a synonym for words like happiness and bliss. But what if I told you that there is so much more behind this three letter word? That you could have joy even when you don’t have happiness, and that your joy never has to be stolen from you? That’s what God has to say about joy and so much more! Let’s dive into four truths from the Bible all about joy.