Being bilingual has a lot of advantages. One of the best ones is being able to interpret the Bible or a sermon from two different perspectives. On Sunday, I went to a Spanish church. The service and the sermon are in Spanish. The message was about GOZO. Gozo translated into English is JOY. I fully enjoyed the message. It answered a lot of questions I had about bitterness and anger. The sermon basically said that a lack of “GOZO” was the first sign of someone distancing from God. If I cannot feel this inexplicable sense of JOY, no matter the circumstances it was probably time to evaluate my relationship with God. Have I pushed Him away? Have I spent any time with Him lately?
I loved having this tool in my toolbox to measure where I was on the connection meter. From 1 to 10, Am I at 8? Am I at 4? Once I determine where I am at, I can pray and think about it and hopefully get back on track.
The most beautiful parts of “GOZO” is that you don’t have to do anything to get it. You don’t have to apologize or wake up earlier. You don’t have to give in donations or volunteer more at church. Finding the JOY God provides is actually very simple. Stay still and quiet until He tells you the next move. It might take 10 min, or it might take an hour. Have faith in the process. Sit there authentically and expectantly. God will give you a push, a nudge. When you feel His voice in your life the JOY will flood into your soul.
JOY does not treat an illness or heal a wound. It does not anesthetize mourning. It is not medicine to cure but instead a form of hope to inspire.
Measure your JOY today. IF it is not where you would like to see it, take some time, God is calling.
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