The Bible says the joy of the Lord is our strength. In children’s church we confess – I believe the Word of God is true.

Black or white, one way or the other, either we believe God’s Word or we don’t. Yet, it’s so easy to believe just parts of the Bible and think oh well, it will pass. Yeah, it will pass or will we revisit that same mountain again and again? The great news is through God’s Word we have advantages. The outcome is – we win.

After using my vacuum cleaner over and over I can know tell when the bag needs to be emptied. The vacuum cleaner just doesn’t do as good of a job when it’s full of junk and dirt. Yet, when I empty the compartment that collects dirt it does a good job of cleaning my floors. It’s just that little adjustment that makes all the difference. It wasn’t something major that affected my vacuum cleaner it just needed to be fine tuned. I had the ability to make my vacuum cleaner run smoothly. It takes a little energy to clean out the tray where the dirt collects, but worth the time and effort to see my vacuum cleaner do its job well.

It’s the same with us – a little fine tuning and we can function better.

This week, month and year let’s depend on God to get us through our busy lives with joy. First see what He says in His Word about your situation, second believe that it’s for you, third confess it as truth and relax knowing His joy is our strength.

I heard a minister say recently - oh but that's not necessary to praise God and get all excited - yet the Lord told Joshua and his army to shout while the walls were still standing.

Shouting depicts excitement and joy. When we believe God's word is true, we recognize we have the advantage. While it seems logical we should be frowning and worn out we can smile because we know something. Don't quit believing, take a hold of what's yours through faith.