Greetings! Meredith here.
Her. This would be me. My fight for joy. You might ask, "well, why not name it MY fight for joy?" Great question! I chose to describe myself in the pronoun that distinguishes me as a woman. I believe that God, creating me as a woman, has designed me for a very specific calling and a very unique pursuit. I have been called to pursue a biblical vision of redeemed womanhood (thanks, Pastor Kenny, for that term) and I do that by seeking to fulfill my God-given role of wife to Joshua and mother to Samuel:
Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. ::Titus 2:3-5::Fight. Paul the Apostle urges us to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12). Why fight, you might ask. We fight because there is an enemy to be fought against. There is the enemy as most people would know as Satan, or the devil. And then there is the most vicious of enemies, the enemy within. Because of the Fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, sin totally corrupted the heart of every person, making it impossible to please God (Rom. 8:8). But, because of the mercy of God in sending His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life and die a sinner's death, which I deserved, I am now imputed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Because of this subtitutionary life and death, I am now FREE to choose obedience and can please God through the work of His Son. There's the catch. I must choose to live in obedience to God and His Word. Although God gives me POWER to choose righteousness, there is that enemy within - the flesh - that often keeps me from choosing what pleases Him. Author of The Enemy Within, Kris Lundgaard writes, "The 'law of sin and death' is in a constant tug of war against the believer's overall desire to please God" (The Enemy Within, p.26). As a Christian woman, I am always in a battle against my own flesh and desires to be selfish, sinful, and pursue my own happiness. I need the power of the Holy Spirit to fight against sin and pursue holiness to the glory of God.
Joy. Not only do I have to fight to put off the deeds of my own flesh (Eph. 4:22-24), I must fight to put on the fruits of the Spirit, the outer manifestations of me becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17). Here is where my fight for JOY comes into play. Joy is one of those fruits of the spirit (the others being love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. Gal.5:22-23) that I have been fighting for my entire Christian life. Joy is not to be mistaken for happiness. Oftentimes happiness is what we have when things are going our way, when we get what we want, and when we are feeling comfortable. Oftentimes the pursuit of happiness is simply a pursuit for selfish gain. This is not what I want to fight for. What I am fighting for is an attitude of rejoicing in the object of my faith - Jesus - and the life He has given to me. God has called us to "Rejoice in the Lord always" (Phil. 4:4). I can tell you right now, I do NOT rejoice in the Lord always...but I WANT to. And because I want to, I am going to fight my own inclinations to be ungrateful and selfish and fight to put on the joy of the Lord! I know that this is not easy and so I must call on the Lord for His strength, but if He is mighty to save, He is mighty to change! Praise the Lord!!!
So that is where I am at now in creating this blog. I want this blog to be a place that I can share all that the Lord is teaching me and the great blessings He has bestowed on me. I want to express my thankfulness for each and every circumstance He brings me through and to ultimately bring Him glory through a joyful heart. I hope to post things in all forms: prayers, recipes, pictures, musings, and more :)
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