I’ve been staring at this blank page for far too long because I didn’t want to type the words. Again. Not this time. Not when we were convinced this time was different. But in the end, however different it was or wasn’t the result is the same:

Not Chosen.

Words slapped on my heart like a label. Words the enemy has tried to bury me beneath. Not chosen. Not the best. Not wanted. Not good enough. Not…

I looked up the antithesis of joy the other day. Do you know what words stand in opposition of joy?

Sorrow.
Misery.
Despair.

That’s the prison within the enemy has tried to keep me locked. And I won’t lie, I walked in willingly for a time. In the midst of this pandemic, I wonder with what words you’re being plagued.

Fear.
Anxiety.
Worry.

Do you know why joy is the word I looked up? Because it’s my name. The enemy has tried to convince me to shed the essence of who I am because of my circumstances. And while his lures were enticing for a time, I know what God offers. What He has called me.

Joy.

Joy is what He calls me. Joy that goes beyond a feeling or life’s occurrences. Joy that is rooted in the solid ground of who He is rather than the uncertainties of bare shelves and chaos.

So you too, if you are in Christ, have been given a new name. He’s calling you out of the prison in which the enemy is trying his very best to keep you. Fear, anxiety and worry were never meant for you, dear one. So don’t lose the essence of who you as a child of God because of your circumstances.

Beloved.
Joy.
Faith.
Hope.

Chosen.

That is what He’s speaking over you.
It’s what He’s speaking over me.
May we walk in it.
Even as we wait.