Episode 29: Joy-FULL Living

Feb 1

An interview with Joy Oguntimein

Hear Joy's 'in process' story of embracing the peace and hope of God and letting the Holy Spirit fill her with joy! (Romans 15:13) ⁣

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The Seeds

Name: Joy Oguntimein

Age: 34

Where do you call home: Washington, DC Metro Area

Relationship Status: Single

Season of Work: Learning and Development Specialist, Connections Pastor

Hobbies: Writing, Walking

Jesus Journey: I came to know Jesus as a child. My parents, relatives, and teachers planted seeds in my heart. I attended a Christian private school. One morning during chapel, I walked down the aisle to the altar and asked Jesus to come into my heart. As you know, walking with Jesus is a journey. Currently the lyrics to Hillsongs’ “As You Find Me” somewhat capture my journey… “I have wrestled and I have trembled toward surrender..my heart adrift…and every time I turn around Lord, You're still there” I’m grateful Jesus did not only pursue me when I was lost but continues to walk with me.

The Branches

Joy, we recently became acquainted at Jo Saxton’s Ezer conference at the end of 2021. We were able to chat for about 5-10 minutes, but my experience with you is that you oozed out the joy of our Father! I love that your name is JOY and I got the honor & pleasure of experiencing His joy through you. Where does your joy come from and how do you cultivate and walk out joy in your life?

My joy definitely comes from Jesus! I believe that if you live life following Jesus, walking with others, and being authentically you, then you’ll cultivate joy. Wrapped up in those three pillars are habits such as having exclusive time with Jesus, filtering my thoughts through God’s word, doing fun things with friends and family, serving others, avoiding comparison, and focusing on my purpose. These help me cultivate joy.

You cited 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (rejoice always) in some of your pre-interview conversations as a big part of your ‘in process’ story. What is God teaching you?

In 2012, if you’d ask me where do I see myself in 10 years, I’d tell you that I’d be wrapping up my Pediatric residency, juggling marriage and school, and looking forward to starting a family. Today, I’m not a Pediatrician (not even in the medical field), I’m single, and I’m not even sure most days what it is that I’m juggling. Not having my plans come to life was painful and disheartening. I could not figure out why God was saying no to my prayers to get into medical school.

Over the past 10 years, I have had to choose to rejoice and celebrate what ‘is’ rather than only mourning what ‘is’ not. I think it’s appropriate to mourn lost dreams and goals but that is not all we should do. Rejoicing does not always look like happiness. I can be hurting and still choose to delight in the Lord. I can choose to see the bigger picture and be grateful for what God has done, and is doing, with my life. I choose to rejoice because God is good and works all things for good. I now realize that God was not simply saying ‘No’ but rather ‘I have something better in mind.’

Often people mix up the difference between happiness and joy. What’s the difference?

Joy is an inner feeling, an inner peace based on my knowledge of who God is. Happiness is an outward expression. Joy endures hardship and trials and connects with meaning and purpose. Joy is seeing the goodness of Christ in the word and the world. Happiness is one way to express what we see.

Joy, you said your joy comes from spending time with God and submitting to His will. What does that practically look like in your life?

Most days I spend at least 15 minutes reading my Bible, praying, and singing songs to God. Typically this is at the beginning of my day. Throughout the day, though, I randomly listen to praise and worship songs, read scripture, or send up a prayer. Sometimes when I pray, I pray out loud because it helps me feel more connected to Him (and prevents me from falling asleep ;-).

Submission looks like doing what God says. Simple. It’s knowing that God wants me to follow Him somewhere. Submission is following God even if I don’t understand the details.

Have there been times in your life where you haven’t spent time with God and submitted to His will? What was your experience like in that season? How is that different from life right now?

One recent lesson about the power of simple acts of obedience came last fall when I started a small group. God had been speaking to me for months about being a small group leader. I kept putting it off for different reasons such as I’m too busy and no one will join. Finally, I reached out to our LifeGroups’ director about starting a small group. I also told her my ‘start by’ date so she could hold me accountable. I launched my small group in October and it’s been amazing!! God showed out on the first night. These women, many of whom did not know each other, made meaningful connections during our icebreaker. I thought it was going to be for 6-8 weeks and done. NOPE! My group wants to continue and some have indicated an interest in leading. My simple act of obedience is encouraging others to say yes to God’s plan for them.

How do you trust God, be obedient, and have joy even when you’re in a valley season?

I recount God’s faithfulness in the past. Recently God told me to make a faith move: buy a house. I was hesitant. I started thinking about all the what-ifs and why nots. Then, I remembered moving to St. Louis for graduate school. God helped me to find an affordable apartment that was close to school, near the train station and several bus stops, and close to the grocery store. This was important because I didn't have a car. I was able to get a job on campus and at church. I was never late with paying rent or other bills. I trusted and obeyed and God faithfully provided and guided me during that season. I realized that God has NOT changed. He is still faithful. So I can trust and obey Him today. I can have joy as I expect and wait to see the great things He’ll do as I trust and obey Him in this season. I have joy because I know this season, no matter what happens, is preparation for the next.

What does it look like for you to live a “Joy-FULL” life and show up in your places and spaces?

It’s being intentional about how I model Christ. Often, for me, that means encouraging people and speaking the truth in love. Whether I’m at work, church, home, or at the grocery store I look for opportunities to stir up the gifts within others and let them know God has good plans for them.

For the person who has experienced extreme loss, grief, shut doors, and dream not coming to fruition….is it possible for them to live a 'Joy-FULL life? Why or Why not?

Yes, it is! Grief and joy can co-exist.

It is okay, acceptable, normal, Godly, and healthy to grieve. I’m not sure when or how in Christendom we made grieving something that faithless people do. Somehow we got it twisted and thought because we know someone is ‘in heaven, no longer suffering, or in a better place’ that we should not drop any tears. WHAT?!?!? Jesus knew He was going to resurrect after three days and yet never belittles the grief His disciples would feel when He was being tortured and murdered (John 16:20-22). God created our emotions and it's acceptable to grieve when sorrow comes to us along the road of life.

Living a Joy-Full life does not mean you skip, smile, and wave to every single passerby. It means you allow yourself to have moments where you sit and ask His waves of peace and hope to engulf you. It means when you are sitting in the pain, you can take a deep breath and smile because God gave you one more breath to live. Recognizing that it’s His breath in your lungs and He’s with us in the pain.

Olive Us was created for women to share their in-process experiences and their "Only God" moments so that we can remember we are connected through Christ and we're not alone. Why is this important?

Our faith is designed to be like a cross…vertical and horizontal connecting. We were designed to have intimate fellowship with God and others. We need community. We need to encourage and be encouraged. Sharing our in-process experiences does that.