Joy | 10 Bible Promises for Mamas
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11
All week long, as I’ve been praying over the promise of joy, the scripture “in your presence there is fullness of joy” has been continually on my heart. Have you ever thought about what your life would be like if every moment of every day you were living in the fullness of joy? This truth doesn’t just declare joy, it declares the fullness of joy in the presence of the Lord. And in my praying and asking, “God, help me to understand the fullness of joy that is found in you,” He gave me the most beautiful glimpse of what it looks like to live in that promise.
Today we ate lunch at one of our favorite cafes in the city. This cafe is set inside of a larger building with floor-to-ceiling windows, looking both inside and out, and a long hallway just outside the cafe. After we finished eating, and as soon as my sweet boy’s feet hit the floor, he saw that hallway and couldn’t stop running. Up and down, over and over, with loud happy screaming, pausing for dancing and smiles back at mama (just to make sure I was still there!), and he kept on running. All his running and loud happy screaming attracted quite the crowd, with the people in the cafe and the hallway smiling, laughing and waving as he would pass them by. And as I watched him, it hit me, this is what it looks like to live in the fullness of joy.
My sweet boy knew he was in the presence of his mama, which meant that he was safe, seen and deeply loved, and because of that truth, he kept running, dancing, shouting for joy, enjoying every ounce of that moment, living in the fullness of who God created him to be. God calls us to have faith like a child, trusting in the goodness, care and provision of the Father, and our joy is a product of putting our faith in Jesus. If my sweet Liam could live in the fullness of joy simply because he knew his mama was near, how much more can we live in the fullness of joy knowing we are presence of God forevermore?
God is inviting us into this sweet promise, in His presence He offers us the fullness of joy. If this is Christ’s invitation to us, then why do we struggle to experience the fullness of His joy and His promise of pleasures forevermore? Whether it be waiting for a baby, sleepless newborn nights, tantruming toddlers, a messy house, or a life filled with busy schedules, chaos and interruptions, we live in a world that seeks to steal our joy, with a counterfeit message of happiness telling our hearts, “if this happens, then my joy will be complete.” The truth is, if we are seeking joy in the things of this world, they will always let us down. The fullness of joy is found when we believe in Jesus, experience His presence and trust in His promise of everlasting joy to come. The source of all joy is Jesus – believing, experiencing and trusting in Him.
1. Joy is a product of believing in Jesus and placing our faith in Him.
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9
Our joy comes from the Lord, with an increasing gladness of the heart in knowing, experiencing and trusting Jesus. God has given us the greatest invitation into the fullness of joy when He sent His Savior. When we put our faith in Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, he fills us with the fruit of inexpressible and glorious joy, which is the product of the salvation of our souls.
2. The fullness of joy is found in experiencing the presence of God.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
John 15:9-11
The word fullness is ‘pleroma’ (Greek) meaning filled up or complete and the word joy is ‘chara’ (Greek) meaning gladness or delight. God is calling us to remain in His love and as a result, declares that our joy will be complete in Him. When we are experiencing, living in, and seeking the presence of God in each and every moment of our lives, He promises us the fullness of joy. When we feel that our lives our lacking joy, may we press into God and believe that what He has promised is true, joy that is complete in His presence.
3. Our joy increases as we trust in the Lord and wait for the promise of everlasting joy to come.
Those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 35:10
On this side of heaven, there will be grief, pain, and sorrow, but we have the promise of eternity to come. When we believe in Jesus and place our faith in Him, the promise of a crown of everlasting joy is ours. When the hurt and heartache of this world fill our hearts with heaviness, may we fix our minds on all that is to come, when we will finally be with Him, face-to-face, and the fullness of joy will be complete in His presence, forevermore.
“Believers are not dependent on their circumstances. Their joy comes not from what they have, but from what they are, not from where they are, but from whose they are, not from what they enjoy, but from that which was suffered for them by their Lord.” – Charles Spurgeon
God is inviting us into lives filled with the fullness of joy in every moment, every circumstance and every season. Are we seeking joy in our circumstances, relationships and the things of this world or are we rooted in the truth of who God is, what He’s done, and as a result, living in the fullness of joy that is a product of our faith in Him? The fullness of joy is found when we believe in Jesus, experience His presence and trust in His promise of everlasting joy to come.
Mama, this is Christ’s invitation to you, as we welcome His presence, He has promised the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore…will you reach out your hand and take hold? God is calling us to “rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16), so let’s run, dance, shout for joy and every ounce of every moment because of who He is and what He’s done for us. In whatever this season of motherhood bring you, whether waiting for a baby, sleepless newborn nights, tantruming toddlers, a messy house, a life of filled with busy schedules, chaos and interruptions, God has promised us that in His presence there is the fullness of joy. May we be the mamas who choose to take hold, believing that in Him our joy will be complete.
As a way to celebrate these 10 Bible Promises for Mamas, I have collaborated with my dear friend, Annalisa Sawtell, who is an incredible artist with an inspiring love for Jesus and a heart for seeking beauty where truth and grace collide. Each week, she will be releasing a floral art print that captures the heart of each promise. Our hope is that mamas would download these weekly prints as a way to reflect on the weekly promise and embrace the scripture that reminds us of each truth.
Joy | Daisy
Follow along with Annalisa as she shares more beautiful artwork and inspiring words on Instagram and at annalisavsawtell.com.
Join us for this ten week series as we unpack each one of these 10 Bible Promises for Mamas! If you missed the introduction to the series, click here to read. God has promised us peace, joy, presence, strength, guidance, deliverance, rest, purpose, mercy and hope in all things. I pray that His word is our stronghold and His promise is our hope. I’m praying for you, mama!
