“Hey Soul? Looking ahead at this week? Worry is a place of pain — let’s come away from there. Worry is practicing the absence of God’s presence; Joy is the practice of breathing in God’s Presence…God’s very name YHVH (יהוה) means “Presence” — I AM.

‘You make known to me the path of life: in Your PRESENCE there is fullness of JOY.’ Ps. 16:11

The present moment is the only place joy can be received — because it is the very place where God’s presence is: I AM. So just for today? Keep breathing deep & Practice the Present Moment: Joy is always the practice of breathing in God’s Presence… #HappyMonday#PreachingGospeltoMyself” (Ann Voskamp).

That’s true about worry. I’ve found that anxiety is where I doomcast (which is like doomscrolling combined with predicting the future) every scenario where God is not present and I have to solve the problem myself. It never ends well. Also, 99% of what I fear will happen never actually ends up happening. Yet still I worry.

I love the idea of joy being the practice of breathing in God’s presence. The Bible say that in God’s presence is fullness of Joy (Psalm 16:11), so the more you come alive to God-With-Us, the more joy you have.

The only problem is that you can’t experience joy in the past or in the future. It only comes when you are fully alive to each moment and fully present in the present. That’s the only place where you can hear God speaking. That’s the only place where you can breathe deep God’s peace and find that fullness of joy.

Only when you cast your cares on Christ and bring all your prayers and petitions to God with thanksgiving can you find the peace that passes all understanding and rest.