Maddie Joy

Today, Maddie Joy speaks to us about the importance of filling yourself up with truth, removing our expectations and limits from God, and how God is the only one who can satisfy.

Maddie Joy

Inspiring biblical passage of the moment: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted

and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.

He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.

To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.

In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago.

They will revive them,

though they have been deserted for many generations.

Foreigners will be your servants. They will feed your flocks and plow your fields

and tend your vineyards.

You will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God.

You will feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches.

Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor.

You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.

“For I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing.

I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering

and make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their descendants will be recognized and honored among the nations. Everyone will realize that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God. For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.

I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels.

The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere.” Isaiah 61

Spiritual growth focus at the moment: Allowing the Lord to cut away the flesh in my life. I want my confidence and trust to be completely unwavering because I have placed both completely into His hands. It’s so challenging, but I know it’s so worth it, in the long run. I have always struggled with placing my value into the hands of temporary things, and that’s such a hard and unstable place to be. I’m in a season of letting Him to heal what’s been hurt from years of living in that tendency and allowing Him to come in and fill the void in my heart that I allow so many other things to try and fill. He’s the ONLY thing that completely satisfies.

“I have always struggled with placing my value into the hands of temporary things, and that’s such a hard and unstable place to be.”

Profession: Student / blogger / content creator.

A one sentence bio about me: I’m Maddie Joy, a girl who loves Jesus and people (in that order) and desires for everyone she encounters to know about His unconditional love through her; I also love to laugh.

First encounter with God: I first encountered God at a really young age. I grew up as a pastor’s kid, so I really always knew him, but I remember first really encountering Him while watching a play at church when I was about six years old, that’s when I gave my heart to Him.

What has helped me grow spiritually in this season? The Discerning the Voice of God study by @pricillashirer has been a game changer! Simply stepping out in complete faith and being obedient to God’s voice / staring fear in the face and doing the hard things anyways has helped grow me more in the last few months than in all the other years of my life combined.

Just read / currently reading: WAIT devotion from @dailygraceco! It’s a study going through Psalms. It has really helped me put the seasons where things aren’t going how I planned into perspective. It’s such a beautiful reminder that the Lord is always working in the unseen and that His plan is always greater than mine. Always. It also gives such good, practical advice on what our responsibilities are as we wait for Him to fulfill His promises in our lives.

Top three essentials: Dry shampoo, iced coffee, and my best friend @carlyodo.

How did God speak to you recently? God has been speaking so clearly to me in this season about the importance of surrendering my own expectations to Him so that He can exceed them. I will say this: It has NOT been easy.

He has stripped so much away through this process, and while it hurts, it has only made me that much stronger in Him. He has revealed to me just how often I put Him in a box when He is LIMITLESS. Oftentimes, God has to remove the fleshly things that we depend so heavily on (even good things) in order to show us that He is the only thing in our lives that will remain constant and never let us down!

“He has revealed to me just how often I put Him in a box when He is LIMITLESS.”

Hobby: Blogging, fashion, taking pictures, star gazing, worship leading, coffee shop hangs!

Top 3 practical tips for staying spiritually strong:

1. Have accountability in your life! Surround yourself with friends/mentors who remind you to keep the main thing the main thing, you weren’t made to do this alone!

2. Set aside time to spend with the Lord DAILY. I know it sounds cliche, but seriously, being intentional about spending time (in even something as simple as putting on worship music and reading your Bible) every day will change your life in the best way, it really will. Make Jesus a part of your routine! The more you fill yourself with truth, easier it becomes to fight the lies.

3. Journaling/ writing/ documenting things down has been really helpful in my life. I often look back at things I struggled with or sermons I listened to or answered prayers and am always reminded of His faithfulness. It helps me so much to see tangible evidence of how good He is in every season. Faith is hard sometimes, it’s believing what we can’t yet see, but He is not in the business of letting His people down. Simple as that.

“The more you fill yourself with truth, easier it becomes to fight the lies.”

Favorite person in scripture? Samuel (my man!!) / Esther (my girl). READ THE BOOKS!

What do you want people to learn about God when they look at you? When people look at my life, I want them to see a clear picture of joy and love that is unconditional. I seriously just want the light of Jesus to radiate out of everything I say and do– people NEED that hope.

Favorite season? Fall!

Favorite holiday? Christmas / 4th of July.

A dream you have: To travel and do ministry. I’ve always said that for a living, I want to hug people and tell them that Jesus loves them. Not 100% sure of what that will look like yet, but excited for what God has in store, as I know that’s a part of it.

A special tradition you and your family engage in or keep: One of my absolutely favorite family traditions is Christmas Eve! Our entire family (on my dad’s side) all does a huge get-together, and we all open and wear a new pair of pajamas. We eat, fellowship, sing Christmas carols, and read the Christmas story by the tree together. We used to have a big ol’ sleepover but we grew out of the house. ITS A BLAST!

Question you will ask when you get to Heaven? Oh my, I’ve got a list. WHY ARE MOSQUITOS NECESSARY? WHY DO I HAVE TO EAT HEALTHY AND EXERCISE TO STAY FIT? WHY ARE BOYS CLUELESS? (Y’all cute and love you but you know it’s true). The list goes on, but man, these bring “when I trust you I don’t have to understand” to a whole new level.

Thing you want to raise awareness about: The power of vulnerability / sharing your story + testimony. One of my sweet mentors (@krystellacaycedo) once said “someone’s breakthrough is locked up in the testimony that you’re too ashamed to tell.”

People’s FREEDOM can be on hold because we are too afraid to keep it real.

Also, once again, the importance of rooting your worth completely in Jesus. I’m telling you, when your worth is rooted in the most constant thing, no one / nothing can take it away from you.

What do I usually do before 9:00 AM? Nowadays, it depends on the day. If I’m up by then (bad, I know), I will usually drink a cup of coffee and do my daily devotion and prayer journaling (@dailygraceco has an AMAZING prayer journal that I recommend to everyone!)

What is on my nightstand? I actually don’t have one! Is that weird?

Define Christianity in a sentence: Death has lost its grip on me.

For more Maddie:

Instagram: @maddiee_joy

Twitter: @maddiee_joy1

Pinterest: @maddiee_joy

Until next time, keep witnessing!

XOXO