We are done. We are done letting Satan steal our joy. We are done letting him think that he can run our lives with negative situations. We. Are. Done.
Let me back up and explain why we are done.
For the last 9 months or so, our life has been nothing BUT chaotic. It has been full of many lows and very few highs. We are thankful for the good moments that have kept us going, but are worn out from the beating we have taken in the process. We don’t want to blame every wrong moment on Satan, because we do have free will and some of the negative moments over the last few months we take full ownership of. However, we have felt that our marriage has been under spiritual attack since we began the process of applying to the World Race. It has been one thing after another; one illness to the next, one financial burden followed by another, one letdown after another. We just cannot catch a break!
They say that when you step out in faith to do something that God has called you to do, like the World Race, you should just expect Satan to come against you. He is angry when you decide to follow the call of God, especially when it benefits the Kingdom by bringing more souls to know Christ. But, we honestly have never felt a spiritual attack like the one we have been processing through over the last 9 months. We are tired. Worn out. And just want to give up. But we can’t! We won’t!
James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it a sheer joy, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
And while our joy is there, it has not been our focus. It has not been the driving force behind our every breath. We haven’t been allowing our faith to lead our lives, but instead have retrieved in fear of what attack will come next. And if we are being honest, we have been counting down the days to training camp and launch when we “think” these attacks will stop. But they won’t! They will keep coming because we are CHOOSING to step into the call of God on our marriage. And Satan does not like that. At. All.
But we are done. We are done letting our fear overrule our faith and rob our joy. We want to count every single moment as joy, even the challenging ones. And we want to grow in those moments. We want our faith to rise up! We want to be bold and walk in the freedom that joy brings in the dark moments.
Rick Warren’s wife, Kay, defines joy as: the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.
And something that I have learned through this process is that happiness and joy are two very different things. Because joy is eternal, but happiness is temporary.
Joy brings assurance, confidence, and freedom. Joy frees us from fear and doubt. It allows God to have complete control as we trust in Him. Joy is a choice. And we choose joy.
We hope that you too, will choose joy. Whatever you may be going through, choose joy. Don’t just be happy, because happiness fades. Instead, let joy sustain you. Let joy free you and bring you confidence in trusting God’s plan. Happiness allows you to feel better for a moment, where joy continues to trust and press on with faith regardless of what you may be feeling inside or seeing on the outside.
We want to pray for you. If you are going through something (good or bad) we want to pray for you and encourage you to choose joy!! Contact us via Facebook, text message, or email (there’s a link on the left side of our blog that says “Connect With Us!” – this allow you to email us).
We love you and thank you for your constant support in our journey!
Until next time,
Billy & Ashley Spriggs
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for us as we physically train for the World Race.
2. Pray for spiritual strength & joy! We choose joy!
3. Pray for motivation. Motivation to finish this season in America strong! (This is getting really difficult!)
4. Pray for finances. Our first deadline of $7,000 is due by June 12th. We are almost there! Would you consider giving toward that goal?
