Walking around town, you may notice many people lack something in their lives. The people you crossed paths with had scowls on their face. They were rushed. They were missing something.
That something? These people were missing joy.
Joy is an amazing thing.
Joy doesn’t require good things to happen to us. Joy doesn’t require you to be rich. Joy doesn’t require any specific situation in your life.
If we look to the Bible, we can see this is made plain to us. The Bible tells us we should always have joy.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 –
Rejoice always…
James 1:2 ESV –
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…
2 Corinthians 6:10 –
As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
We see in 1 Thessalonians that we are told to rejoice always. There’s no stipulations to the rejoicing, which means to be joyful or have great joy.
Then, we move to James where we’re told that we need to count ALL things as joy. So, whether it’s a good day or bad day, count it as joy.
Lastly, we see 2 Corinthians tell us, once again, to always be rejoicing.
Being Joyful Is Hard
Throughout our daily lives we face lots of stress.
The pressure to do well at work. The struggle to balance work and home. The trials of married life.
Nothing in life is easy. And it seems like there should be no joy.
But we can be joyful. We know it because we’ve been told to be joyful.
How To Find Joy In Our Lives
We’ve been told to be joyful be we forget how to do this. We see what’s going on around us and feel like there’s nothing to rejoice about.
I’m here to tell you that that is not true. There’s plenty of things to be joyful over.
You’ve got to look hard. They’re there and they’re hiding under your nose.
Do you know why? It’s because the things that bring us the most joy often seem trivial in the grand scheme of things.
Walking with your wife after work
Cuddling up with your dog
Playing ball with your son in the yard
Watching fish swim in your backyard pond
Taking an afternoon siesta
Eating dinner at your favorite restaurant
Driving with the windows down and the air blowing through your hair
These simple, trivial things can bring you so much joy. They do me.
Even then, what about the bad times? How do we have joy then?
This is even more difficult. We feel that when we’re going through a rough patch in life we can be downcast and unhappy.
So, how do we find joy in that period of life?
Tell yourself you are joyful (our thoughts will often guide our feelings)
Do one of the things that bring you joy
Pray and meditate on Godly things
Think on the joyful things you’ve done in the past
Brainstorm how good your future looks
If we can redirect our thinking, we can make being joyful easier.
We can see there are good things in our lives. We can take actions to move towards what brings us joy. We can begin to feel the joy enter our lives.
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