"Text J.O.Y. to your enemies"

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. James 1:2-3

Ever had one of those days where nothing seemed to go right? You overslept, forgot your umbrella when there’s a 100% chance of rain, someone cuts you off in traffic; you spilled coffee on your new blouse and missed an important meeting all in the same day. It’s the kind of day that makes you want to draw the blinds, crawl back into the bed, and pull the covers over your head. The kind of day that make you think to yourself “somebody has really got it out for me”.

Have you ever noticed during these times the attack of the enemy seems to intensify? Some of you are probably shaking your head right now because you know exactly what I mean. These are times you can almost hear the enemy laughing and asking where is your God? My, my, my... Not only were you late for the meeting; but the person who refused to help you with the project got the credit and the promotion. In addition the friend you let cry on you shoulder after her boyfriend told her she looked fat in those jeans; now has no time to console you because she’s found someone who like plus size girls. I know its been one of those days but before you retreat do me a favor; text J.O.Y. to your enemies. Let me explain.

My children are all young adults and pretty much living life on the run. As life goes we don’t always have the time to sit and talk so we have resolved to text one another to keep up during our busiest times. Because texting was new to me I was unfamiliar with the various acronyms used for texting (BTW, TTYL, SMH, BFF etc). Of course my kids thought this was hilarious and got a kick out of me not knowing what on earth they were saying to me. (LOL)

Well I refused to let them have the last laugh so I decided to create my own acronyms which turned the tables on them. So instead of me asking what does ROTFL mean they were asking me what my acronyms meant. This is when I texted them the acronym J.O.Y., which stands for…are you ready for this? “Jokes On You”.

Now that you know what it means let me tell you why you need to text J.O.Y. to your enemies. Text it because you lost the promotion; but God continues to take you higher. Text it because when your best friend walked away from you; you realized you had a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Text it because it was in the midst of the storm you discovered a hiding place. Text it because after being left for dead you were able to get up and lastly text it because after all you been through you still have joy!

My dear friend, you need to send a text to all those who tried to steal your joy and let them know “Jokes On You!

His praise is in my mouth,

Rev. Melva