How to Count it all Joy; Even when it’s Not What’s your Story? (Part One)

Is Your Story full of Limits?

What exactly is limiting beliefs?

The definitions are: limit-to restrict or restrain; confining belief-your opinion or conviction

When you label yourself, you limit yourself!

Things you say to yourself like; I’m to old. I’m to fat. I’m not smart enough. Etc…

You don’t get to chose the situation but You chose the story!

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing

(James 1:2-8KJV)

May I propose the problem with your story begins between your ears? Most of us have beliefs which limit us in some ways and steal our Joy, Because we tell ourselves a story that has holes in it. That story keeps us from reaching our potential and purpose.

There are 6 steps to Overcoming The Holes in your Story. I’m only able to share the first 3 steps to overcome these to enable and empower you to finish the story. So, I’m sharing those 3 now and the other 3 in an FREE online class you can sign up for at the bottom of this email.

Isolate the belief or the story

First consider what the belief is that is limiting you. Many of us live our life without realizing why we do some of the things we do, it’s based on flawed thinking we learned somewhere along the way. Who told you the story your believing?

Exercise: Journaling: GET A NOTEBOOK AND PEN

List limiting beliefs or the stories you’ve been telling yourself.

Example: I’m an idiot or I’m ugly, or I’m not good enough.

The story you tell yourself is what keeps you stuck and steals your JOY.

Seek the source

Think back to when you first had the belief or told yourself that story. When did you first believe this? What happened for you to believe it?

Who told you that?

But the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? He said, I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat (Genesis 3:9 – 3:11 AMP)

Who told YOU the story your believing? Parents, Teachers, Friends?

Who told you things like?

-Your not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, skinny enough

That’s their story NOT yours! You don’t have to own it!

Were the stories based on an experience? Did you try something once, failed and then formed the belief that you were incapable? Maybe Losing weight, Getting the Dream Job, Starting a Business

Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]

(Romans 8:6 AMP)

Exercise: Journal (Trace where the “Stinking Thinking Began” as Zig Ziegler said), write down who told you that, if no one did write where you think it came from.

Recognize the falsehood

In doing the above steps, you may already be realizing that the story your telling yourself is a fairytale or horror story, which is both limited and limiting. You are holding it because you were told to or because it helped you once and now the enemy repeats it on a loop in your head.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)

Anything you say to yourself to justify why your life isn’t working out for you is a limiting belief and stealer of Joy.

Who are you believing? Friends FB? Instagram? What you see on the outside? Your MAKER IS YOUR ONLY MORROR! DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO ANYONE! YOUR AN ORIGINAL, THEIR IS NO ONE ELSE LIKE YOU!

Take time to reflect on this and recognize the full extent of the belief, how false it really is and especially how it has limited you in the past. Feel free to get angry about if you want.

In doing this, you need to accept that you are not perfect. Beware of self centered stories that start with “I”! You must be open to learn and ready to change. You choose the story! Instead of WHY ME? Change the story to, “This is so HARD it must be GOD!” Look at those Giants, it’s got to be God!!

Exercise: Look up scripture that directly contradict your false story, write them on INDEX CARDS and every time that story crosses your mind read the scripture on the card. Keep cards with scripture written on them on your refrigerator, bathroom mirror, in your purse, and on the wall by your, kitchen sink where you will see them and read them often.
Cheat: use a Bible app to do word search’s for scriptures
It gets easier every time you do it. After we had this second auto accident my comeback wasn’t as long because I had already come back before. I didn’t believe the enemies lies that I couldn’t or God wouldn’t. That maybe this is not what God told me to do or maybe I heard him wrong. I had replaced most of the lies with the TRUTH already. I just had to drawback on the wins from my first recovery. How do you count it all Joy? You Chose Joy! You get to chose the story you tell yourself and believe.

Once you’ve replaced the limiting belief with the truth and written your scripture on the card you can tear out the notebook page with lie on it ball it up or rip it to shreds and throw it away.

Once you’ve memorized the TRUTH on your CARD store your scripture cards in a recipe box to revisit anytime you need to.

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:2-8KJV)

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV)

Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death.But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever] (Romans 8:6 AMP)

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)

For thirty plus years I have believed the lie that was told to me by a friend in high school. I was singing along with the radio on the way to school and I said, “I think I want to be a country singer when I’m grown.” She flippantly replied, “I think you need to get a new dream.” I believed I couldn’t sing, because of that one comment that she probably doesn’t even remember.

That was the lie I believed and therefore I have never sang in public except as a member of a choir. The truth is the scripture below.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing (Psalm 100:1 – 100:2 KJV)

I overcame this limiting belief recently by singing with the prais team, at a women’s conference I hosted recently. I loved it and so did everyone in the audience. What might have happened if I hadn’t believed that lie all those years and believed the truth, ie the Word of God?

What is Joy? Where do we get it?

First off according to the dictionary joy is the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying. It’s a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone you greatly valued or appreciate. It’s the expression or display of glad feelings, a state of happiness.

Scripture tells us that joy comes from the Lord. That’s is delighting in Him and all He has done for you. Joy is a choice. We get to choose how we are going to react to situations, people, and all the other things we come across in this life. I have included in this article some of my favorite scriptures on Joy and made this post easy for you to print so you can put these scriptures in an area where you can read them several times a day. The best way to choose Joy is to focus on the source of our Joy.

Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (Psalms 37:4 KJV)

You have put more joy and rejoicing in my heart than [they know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust (Psalm 4:7 – 4:8 AMP)

The way to battle arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21).

In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace.

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:2-8KJV)

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:2 – 1:8 KJV)

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing (Zephaniah 3:17 KJV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another (Galatians 5:22 – 5:26 KJV)