“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy,
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart;
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy,
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart to stay” (George William Cooke, 1925)
Can I boldly ask that as children of the Most High God, loved so much that he allowed his Son’s death for us and valued so much that he sends the Spirit to abide with us day in and day out; shouldn’t we be the most joy-filled, joyful people reflecting joy daily in all things?
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13 ESV
I have witnessed over decades the euphoric response to ‘giving one’s life to Christ,’ followed by a declining and disillusionment when the dopamine subsides and the ‘realities of life prior to Christ try and seep back in. An enthusiasm gap in Christianity exists and is all too real.
I had a good friend, whose relationship with me ended as I surrendered all to Jesus. He went through a succession of failed relationships and marriages. He would enthusiastically jump into these new and ‘happiness’ promising marriages and relationships, only to be disappointment and end them when the euphoria of the moment gave way to the reality of the brokenness that existed within him. He made the comment to me that “I just want every day to be like to first 6 months.” Human nature says this is how relationships should be. Spiritual nature says that the new should mature, the naive grow, the interaction should move from momentary euphoria to a new life that delivers joy in every season.
In Corinthians the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:2 “I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,” ESV. Walking with and in the joy that a life surrendered to the Lord involves maturing in our relationship through study and conscious effort.
Joy is a state of mind too often confused and used synonymously with happiness. Happiness of course being an emotional reaction to a temporary situation. Joy encourages us to wake up and fulfill the promise of a new day. Happiness causes us to desperately cling to something fading into a mist of memory, then seeking the ‘next’ momentary happiness delivering thing. Stop seeking what’s fleeting and surround yourself with what is everlasting.
My daily prayer for our kids is that they fall deeply in love with Jesus. I am talking about a love so deep, so wide, so all-encompassing that the things the World tells them are important washes off of them like water off a duck’s back. Seriously, I pray that the joy that comes from being the forgiven child of the King creates in them an impenetrable barrier that denies the temporal things that tells our sinful nature ‘this is where happiness abides.’ Happiness does not abide. It comes and goes but the joy of and in the Lord lasts forever.
Steps to joy:
1) Surrender every thought, every desire, every need and every want to the sovereignty of God and trust that His plan for your life is best. Period.
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8 ESV
2) Believe in the incessant plot of the enemy (Satan) to place within you discouragement, desire, restlessness and envy. Oh that evil word envy that destroys so many and causes too many to abandon trust and contentment.
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 NLT
3) Start each day with prayers of thanks and pray thanks throughout the day. In every situation. Thanks for needs met. Thanks for your current condition. Thanks for the hope that comes only from the Savior. Thanks for gas for the car. Thanks for old, warm clothes that most of the World can only dream of wrapping themselves in. Thanks for the stranger whose life you can forever impact with a kind word. Thanks for eternity. Satan has no impact on a joy-filled life and a joy-filled life no place for Satan to abide.
“give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
4) Look around and become keenly aware of the blessings God places in your life every day. The neighborhood kid “who drives you crazy,” but in reality teaches joy by waving and smiling when that’s the last thing you want to see. See how much the Father’s love for you as you are allowed to see what the blind person cannot. You hear what the deaf person misses. You learn the amazing gifts of heightened senses that the blind and the deaf person has been blessed with.
“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:7 NLT
5) Emit gratitude. Joy is the natural state where gratitude invades and exist.
“For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” 1 Timothy 4:4-5 NIV
Moths are drawn to flames. Joy is a flame that this broken World just cannot understand. That’s okay. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 KJV.
Seek and find joy. Invite joy in. Allow joy to permeate every area of your life. Recognize that joy is the gift from God that begins the process of transformative thinking and life approach. Joy is the fuel that energizes love. Joy is the embodiment of faith, hope and love. These three, but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
Be uncontrolled in your joy today.
You’ve got this.