Joy, peace, deliverance, salvation is free....

Happy Sunday everyone! When I was growing up, I attended a small church in Richmond, Virginia and at the closing of every service, we sang a song called "Come to Jesus" also known as The Invitation.  This song was sang to as the doors of the church were opened to invite people to come join our church or give their lives to Christ.  The song went like this:

"Jesus is watching and waiting for you. Willing and able, to see you through. No need to worry, he knows what to do. I'm here to tell you, there's a miracle for you.  
He gives rest for the weary and strength for the lame. He's passing out blessings, there's one with your name. Joy, peace, deliverance, salvation is free. Come to Jesus, he's all you need."

As a child, I would sing this song with the rest of the congregation and I remembered the words long after I stopped attending the church, but they never really sank in until I had a conversation with a friend the other day.  During the week, my roommate from college and I have prayer in the morning over the phone. We started this in November and every morning we share our prayer requests with each other.  We lift up our own concerns, needs, fears, worries, etc. and we also lift up our friends and family member who may be standing in the need of prayer.  Last week, Lawren had shared what she wanted to pray about and when it was my turn, I thought about what I wanted to pray about. I didn't particularly have any requests for friends or family, and I didn't have any particular issues that I wanted to bring before God either. I thought about it and I said "you know, I just want to thank God for the gift of joy, peace, and deliverance." 

This was a highly profound moment because I realized sometimes I want to lift things up to God like finances, or material things that I may want, but joy, peace, deliverance, and salvation don't have a dollar sign on them.  These are gifts that God gives to us for free, we just have to receive them.  Now you may be thinking, free gifts, who wouldn't take those!? Anything else that's free, we take full advantage of especially if it's something of interest. So who wouldn't want joy, peace, deliverance, or salvation? 

Everyone probably desires these things, but it's not as easy as it seems to just accept these gifts from God.  Sometimes circumstances in our lives hinder us from receiving these gifts.  A lot of times we battle with fully accepting these things because of the warfare that is raging in our minds.  

I am a living testimony that when you really accept and receive these already free gifts from God, your life becomes that much better! 

Let's start with joy: Joy might be confused with happiness at times.  Some people may even think they are synonyms.  In this case, they are not.  I have heard great religious teachers say "happiness is circumstantial, but joy is eternal".  This is definitely true. A lot of times, we define being happy when everything is going well in our lives, when we get what we want, when everything is on the up and up! Joy on the other hand is still possible to have even when everything is falling apart.  When you're not sure how a circumstance is going to turn out.  When you're lonely.  When you're disappointed about something that isn't happening the way you want it to in your life.  The rain will fall on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45) and we all have good days and bad days, but having joy is the ultimate gift to get you through anything that comes your way.

John 15:11 says "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete". 

Romans 15:13 says "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit".

Peace: I used to suffer from being overly anxious.  I say I "suffered" because I just couldn't allow myself to find peace in certain situations.  My friends called me Anxious Annie (yeah, they came up with Frugal Frannie as well lol).  I just couldn't relax and let things happen and be at peace.  This was a MISERABLE feeling!  I wanted to change, but I felt like I couldn't. I felt like it was just a personality flaw.  I also didn't have a solid and real relationship with God during this time.  Since I have welcomed God into my heart and exercise a daily, healthy relationship with him, I have felt the peace of God all around me! 

Philippians 4:6-7 says "Don't be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Deliverance: There have been times when I have needed God to deliver me from some things. A few years ago, there was a situation going on with me that I prayed about regularly to be delivered from. I used to write down my prayers and when I look back over that prayer journal, I see that I prayed about this situation for a whole year.  It took a long time, but I believed God would deliver me and he did. This moment in time was also a period of brokenness for me and it began my journey with having a true relationship with God.  Although I didn't understand it at the time, everything comes together eventually and I am stronger now because of it. 
Psalm 91:14-15 says "Because he loves me, says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver and honor him". 

Salvation: Salvation is defined as "deliverance from sin and its consequences".  When I spoke of deliverance, I meant being delivered from strong holds that try to take over our lives and our minds. It may be a drug addiction, a broken heart, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, financial burdens, etc. Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we will be saved! Every time I think of this, I get chills. I look over my life and see just how unworthy I am to have someone do that for me! That's real love!
Acts 4:12 says "salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved". 

This scripture pretty much sums it all up.  Nothing and no one else can save us, but God! 

No matter what earthly possession you have, these things can't be bought. I felt richly blessed when I acknowledged to my friend that I accept these gifts from God and I receive them as blessings in my life.  Sometimes when we don't have all that we want, we think "I'm not getting blessed, but everyone else around me is".  We may even compare ourselves to what our friends have, their relationship, their material things, etc. but having joy, peace, deliverance, and salvation is a greater gift than any of these things!!  While you're waiting for whatever you're heart desires, accept these gifts that are already available to you. When you see these things as blessings, you won't feel like you have been passed by in the blessing department! You will know just how blessed you really are!!