“Gratitude exclaims, very properly, ‘How good of God to give me this.’” – C.S. Lewis. How good of God to give us joy! To give us an emotion that transcends circumstances, time and eternity. Joy coupled with and flowing from grace, is the grease in the cogs of life. Life still happens, but joy allows us to continue smoothly.

For various reasons, the last few years I have struggled through the Holiday season. Joy like love, can often be a choice, but when joy simply and quietly comes – what a gift! It comes through life style of grace. Joy is never absent when we are walking in grace.

 ^“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.” Romans 15:13

Joy and peace come as we trust in Him. Trusting in Him means giving up our illusions of control while laying down pride and the desire to cling to what we want. Grace is the promise of humility, the opposite of pride. Grace trusts in Him – so that – we may overflow with hope! What a gift.

 Joy is never absent when there is hope. Hope trusts in Him and comes by the power of the Holy Spirit. Today I thank you Lord for humbling me, allowing me to walk through the tough stuff to learn about grace and through that to taste the depths of joy! How good God is to give me joy!

And how good of you my readers, to share this joy with me by reading my blog. Thank  you for reading Not Unredeemed. I appreciated every one of you! May God also bless you with Joy this season!

5 Minute Friday Prompt – Thank You. Join the fun over at Lisa Jo Baker’s blog.