By Grace Through Faith

There are many people I know who always seem to be so joyful in life. They are the kind of people that you look at, and you just feel better after seeing them. However, most people struggle with living a life full of joy because of the challenges and hardships they might face.

Joy is a difficult topic for me to write about, honestly. Mostly because I struggle to live joyfully every day, and I am still in the process of trying to figure out how to do so. However, I think it is important to know what joy is and how we can find joy.

WHAT IS JOY:

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. – John 16:22-24

Joy is a fruit that is given by God to us through the Holy Spirit. It is one in which we might often have to ask God for. Just as we might struggle to love others and have patience with others, we can struggle to have joy in our lives. But our joy cannot be centered on the circumstances we are in because our life circumstances are not always happy ones. Instead, our joy must be centered on the One who gives us joy.

Joy is more of an outlook on life rather than a feeling. Joy typically comes from us trusting God’s will and being contempt with where He has placed us right now in our life. However, we have to realize that the devil can try and take away our joy from us as well.

HOW CAN OUR JOY BE TAKEN AWAY FROM US:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. – John 10:10

The devil does not want us to be contempt in this life. He doesn’t want us to trust God so easily and because of that, the devil will try and steal our joy from us in life. He uses different tricks and tools so that we do not live a life full of joy, one of those being comparison.

Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else. For each one should carry his own load. – Galatians 6:4-5

When we start to compare ourselves to those around us, whether that is through comparing our timelines, our accomplishments, or our outside appearance, we start to forget WHO God created each of us to be and WHAT plan God has for each of us.

When we come across those thoughts of comparison, we have to switch our mindset quickly. We have to stop with the comparison and instead, go back to the truth that God has given us. If we start to get into these tracks of comparison often and struggle with changing our mindset, it is important to acknowledge what is triggering you to do so. Maybe, it’s spending too much time on social media or watching movies that make your life look less than what it truly is. Sometimes, we have to limit our eyes and ears to those things of this world and take the time to refocus our attention back to Christ.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10

HOW DO WE CHOOSE TO LIVE WITH JOY:

As I stated previously, joy is a fruit that is given by God through the Holy Spirit. And many times in our life, we have to pray to God and ask Him to give us joy in those difficult seasons where it is hard to find it. We have to also acknowledge that joy and sorrow can coexist in our lives.

In the book of Psalm, David prays to God about the challenges he was facing during his life. While much of Psalm talks about the character and the goodness of God, that doesn’t mean David did not face trials or struggles, like you and me. However, in his struggles, David was able to speak with God about them and continued to praise God for His power and His glory.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. – Psalm 16:9-11

David knew that his joy could only come from God. He knew that nothing on this earth would fill his soul the way God could. And even when he was facing difficult seasons of his life, David kept focusing his heart and his eyes on God. He was able to be in the presence of God and find joy right there.

Jesus also focused His heart on the presence of God when He faced times of sorry. Jesus was a man full of joy and peace, but He also experienced sadness and pain in His life.

Jesus not only endured the cross for us so that we could experience joy in this life, but He also showed us what it is like to live with joy and sorrow at the same time.

There were times where He knew His friends would betray Him, and people would mock Him, but He continued to live a joyful life. He wept with people, and He felt many feelings that we feel. Yet, He was able to still find joy by spending time with God and spending time with a community of believers around Him. Jesus also allows us to experience that joy as well.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2

Jesus endured the cross so that our sin would be defeated and that we could eventually spend eternal life joyfully with Him. But we are still able to find joy in this lifetime too. When we start looking to Jesus and putting our trust in Him, we can experience joy during the difficult circumstances we might face. We can continue to be grateful for all the many blessings God has given us, no matter how big or how small.

There will be seasons where it is difficult to find joy in your everyday life. But by remembering that God loves us, gives us everything we need, and has a greater plan for our lives than we could ever imagine, we can continue to experience joy through Him wherever we are.

With love,

Claire