PASSIONATE PURSUIT...LET'S TALK ABOUT JOY

JOHN 15:16
YE HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME, BUT I HAVE CHOSEN YOU, AND ORDAINED YOU, THAT YOU SHOULD GO AND BRING FORTH FRUIT, AND THAT YOUR FRUIT SHOULD REMAIN: THAT WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK OF THE FATHER IN MY NAME, HE MAY GIVE IT YOU.​

I DIDN'T CHOOSE THE LORD JESUS, He chose me. He gave me the choice after making His. He said I was the apple of His eye. When I made the decision to surrender, He began to shift things and pour of His Holy Spirit ad fill all of the emptiness that resulted from my true surrender.

One evening after reading my word, I had gone to sleep. In the whee hours of the night I was awakened by an angel. The angel didn't speak a message with words, but with a spirit of laughter. There was a joy-filled laughter and I couldn't stop laughing. It was like I understood in the Spirit that I would overcome. Then I started to clap my hands and began praising the Lord, Though I couldn't see a positive way through my circumstance, the Lord sent the spirit of joy to get me through that appointed time of elevation in Him. It is hard to describe in words the death of “self” when you're going through circumstances and there is no clear path to take. The straight and narrow that leads to righteousness is rarely the first choice, but leads and guides us by His Spirit to deny ourselves and follow Him. I had to grasp the meaning of what that joy-filled laughter meant. Death and life were present. Death of the “old man” known as self and life as a new creature in Christ began to emerge.

Gal 2:19-20
FOR I THROUGH THE LAW AM DEAD TO THE LAW, THAT I MIGHT LIVE UNTO GOD.
I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: NEVERTHELESS, I LIVE; YET NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: AND THE LIFE WHICH I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH I LIVE BY THE FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD WHO LOVED ME, AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME.

So, then a joy was birthed in me that said to live is Christ and to die is gain. I had to be content with the Lord's will. That joy said I fear the Lord. That joy said He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Allowing the Holy Spirit to reign completely is when I was able to encounter the fullness of His joy.

The Lord Jesus Christ makes it clear that we didn't choose him first, but He chose us, and if He chose us then He qualifies us or equips us for the mission that He chose us to accomplish in Him. Then, the Lord states that He desires by having chosen us that we should bear much fruit and that our fruit should remain.

There is a lot of revelation in that one particular scripture. One revelation is the He gives us everything we need to accomplish what He ordained us to do. First, let me say that I communicate with a lot with people in my line of work and while having general conversation, people have made mention that though they may be gainfully employed, they don't like several aspects of their job.

No matter what job or assignment I've been on, I've found some things that I didn't look forward to throughout the course of my shift or even when I was going through training for the role I was to operate in. However, I must admit that I often had the tools to accomplish the task whether I like the job or not.

When I was a mortgage loan officer, we would come in to the office every morning. I knew O had phone calls to make and leads to obtain. Although, some of the people I worked with, I could do without their personality or characteristics.

When I was in basic training in the US military, I was equipped with everything I needed to complete my training and yet I must admit that the physical training was challenging and several mornings I wished there was a way to avoid going. Nonetheless, the result that we hoped for regardless of what job was that I would bear fruits of righteousness. The goal for mortgages is that the people and families would be places in homes and for the military it was train to be an EMT, which would in turn bring forth healing and deliverance (spiritually as well as naturally), when soldiers were injured in the line of duty. Though these things mentioned were natural duties, there is a spiritual revelation. Things may seem natural, but everything has a spiritual design by the Lord. 
We have natural appointments and spiritual callings of the Most High, and He always equips us for the task. There are many challenges, tests, trials, but all have been allowed to bring us to our expected end build us up on our Most Holy Faith in the Lord Jesus.