How Can I Find Joy in a Joyless Environment?
CONVERSATIONS:
First of all, let’s start by saying, happiness and joy are not the same thing.
Happiness is an emotion caused by external factors, such as your birthday, a holiday or a “pleasurable or satisfying experience.”
Happiness is externally-induced and doesn’t last forever.
It is influenced by circumstances and events.
Remove those activities, and the happiness ends.
Joy, on the other hand, is supernatural. It is activated by the presence of God.
Happiness is a Natural Reaction, while Joy is Supernatural .
C.S Lewis said:
“Joy is the serious business of heaven.”
If you have God in your life, you can experience joy, even in a joyless environment.
Here are 3 ways to nurture that joy:
1. Stay in the presence of God.
You may be in the darkest of situations, but God’s word can fill you with a light that will bring joy into your soul.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11
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
Q. Based on these verses, what are the advantages of staying in the presence of God and meditating on his word?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. Choose Joy always. Decide to make God’s joy, your strength.
Sometimes, people won’t or can’t give you the encouragement or affirmation you need. If you are dependent on the approval of people, you will be insecure.
Decide to live for God’s approval.
God sees you and cares for you. Let his watchfulness and unconditional love bring you a steady joy.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. Psalm 28:7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4
Q. When our heart is unsettled, our emotions are affected.
Is there anything trying to steal your joy? ________________________
3. Choose to live righteously.
On many occasions, Jesus lived in a joyless environment. He grew up in a very humble home,and experienced many hardships, both in the natural and spiritual realm.
His joy and peace came, not from his environment, but from the presence of his Heavenly Father. If we follow his example, we too can experience supernatural peace and joy.
“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne.” Hebrews 12: 2 NLT
Q. How does Jesus example, encourage you today?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish. Proverbs 10: 27-28
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your holy word.
Thank You that regardless of our environment, we can have supernatural joy.
I make a decision today, not to base my life on happy moments, which are short-lived or based on external circumstances. Instead, I choose to live my life rooted in your Word. It is your joy, your promises, that brings me strength.
By the power of your holy Spirit, I make a decision today to:
Stay in your presence daily.
Choose your Joy rather than the approval of man.
Live righteously in a manner that pleases you, whether it’s popular or not.
This I pray, in Jesus name, Amen.
Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. Psalm 119:165
My Comments Policy
While my site offers visitors the ability to converse, I have a few ground rules so that our conversations will remain civil and courteous.
1. You must register in order to leave a comment. I don’t entertain pseudo, anonymous or bogus individuals. This site is my home (it has a Home Page, get it). I don’t let strangers who don’t introduce themselves into my home.
2. I love questions. I love them because a lot of times they are similar to someone else’s questions and can even trigger other questions from others. Questions also keep us all sharp. This is also why I respond to them as best as I can and at the soonest possible time. I believe that group answering benefits more people than private email exchanges.
3. We don’t have to agree. Debates are welcome. However, whether it is with me or any other visitors of my site, my rule is this: disagree if you must but keep things civil. That’s just how I run my home, and you are a visitor here. No shouting; I have seen it done in writing. No cursing and no insulting.
4. I reserve the right to delete your comments. Like I said, this is my home. I do not have an obligation to publish your comments. As a human being, you may enjoy the freedom to express your opinions on your own site but not on mine. To be specific, I will delete your comments if you post content that is in my sole opinion: (a) snarky; (b) off-topic; (c) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate my sense of decorum, civility or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (d) “spam,” i.e. an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services. You may, however, post a link to your site or your most recent blog entry.
5. You retain ownership of your comments. I do not own them and I expressly disclaim any and all liability that may result from them. By commenting on my site, you agree that you retain all ownership rights in what you post here and that you will relieve me from any and all liability that may result from those posts.
6. You grant me the license to post your comments. This license is worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free. By posting comments on my site, you automatically grant me the right to store, use, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, and distribute your comments in any format, including but not limited to a blog, in a book, video, or presentation.
In short, my goal is to host interesting conversations with caring, honest, and respectful people. I believe this clear and simple comments policy will facilitate this.
