Shout to the Lord

One great joy in youth ministry for me is teaching Confirmation. I find this ironic because I swore I would NEVER want that job. I love working with jr. high students because I find there is this incredible tension in their lives as they go from innocent and at times naive children to independent and aware adults.
Last night I had the joy of teaching about the fruit of the Spirit to 50 or so 7th and 8th graders. To open our teaching time we sang Shout to the Lord. I have long thought this is a great jr high praise song, but last night further proved my point. So there I was last night standing next to a 4' 11" twelve year old boy, his eyes shut and he is belting out, "ASKING for joy at the work of your hands."
If I make a mistake while singing a song, I am immediately embarrassed. Jr high kids don't care. What's even better is that often when kids or youth sing the wrong words or change the phrasing, there is wisdom in that. The lyrics to song are, "I sing for joy at the work of your hands." But, I like my twelve year old friend's rendition better. Here's why, how often do we try to find joy ourselves? We buy something in hopes that it will bring us happiness. We do something becuase it makes us feel good. So often, our thought is that we can create joy in our lives. Joy, however is a fruit of the Spirit. As in, a gift from allowing the Spirit to work in and through our lives. Are you trying to create your own joy or are you trusting God to provide joy at the work of His hands?