Choose Joy
Psalm 37:1 “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.”
Today I would like to talk about joy. Joy has been something that I have been intentionally trying to bring into my life daily for a year or so now. One of my mentors in personal development always says that we need to bring the joy into the day, into every situation. Brendon Burchard is always saying, “The power plant does not have energy, it generates energy.” He says that it is the same with joy. One does not simply have joy we create joy. We do not have to wait around for someone else to bring us joy; we can decide to generate our own joy. The definition I found for joy online said it is a “feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” This is I think probably what we all think of when someone says joy. Here is another definition by Pastor Rick Warren, “Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.” Joy is a decision that we can make. Joy is different than happiness. Happiness is based on our circumstances. If our life is going well, we tend to be happy. If life is not going as planned we don’t tend to be happy. Joy is something we can have in the midst of our circumstances, no matter what those circumstances may be. Our life does not have to be going well for us to be joyful. However, we do need to decide whether or not we are going to choose joy in each moment. Choosing joy is not something that comes naturally to most people. We need to work at it in the same way that we would work on strengthening a muscle. In the bible Paul is talking to the Philippians 4:11-14 and he says, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” While listening to an episode of Big Life Devotional podcast Pamela Crim talked about the three steps Paul took to learn contentment. I think they could help us all learn how to choose more joy in our daily lives.
Gratitude: Paul was grounded in gratitude. There is always something we can be grateful for in our life. Can you develop a daily practice of gratitude? What is it that you can thank God for today? The things you are grateful for don’t have to be big things. You could be grateful for the sun rising, or a nice cup of coffee, or the fact that you woke up to another day of life. I try to write down 5 or 10 things that I am grateful for every morning. I guarantee that if you start this practice, where you have to come up with 5 or 10 things you are grateful for each day, then you will develop an attitude of gratitude. It will change your life. What you search for you find. If you are looking for reasons to be grateful, you will find them. If you are looking for reasons why everything bad happens to you, you will find them. Your mind will answer whatever question you ask it. So, ask yourself better questions.
Truth: Paul knew that God would make a way because God always had before. He knew that he was stronger than he ever thought because he was relying on God to get him through. You can do the same. Think back to all the difficult time you have had up until now. Did God get you through them? Did surviving them make you stronger? Paul also knew hardships. Paul had been whipped 5 times, beaten 3 times, and stoned 1 time. He lived through 3 ship wrecks and was thrown into prison a few times. If he can still know contentment after living through all of these things, isn’t it possible for us to know it also?
Choice: Paul chose contentment in these circumstances. He could have chosen despair. He could have chosen defeat. He could have chosen anger. Instead he chose joy. Paul made a deliberate choice to choose contentment.
Looking at these steps and Paul’s story, I think Rick Warren’s definition of joy perfectly describes what Paul felt, “Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.” This is how we can choose joy each day. We can practice those three steps above. We can be thankful for everything God has given to us, we can look for opportunities throughout the day to be grateful. We can stand in the truth that we don’t have to worry because God will get us through anything and everything. Finally, we can do our best to intentionally choose joy in our everyday life.
Dear Heavenly Father I ask that you bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord we ask that you help us choose joy. We ask that you open our eyes to all the things we have to be grateful for and help us celebrate those things. Lord I ask that you open our eyes to the truth in our lives. I ask that you help us to see all the ways you've been there for us in the past and help us to know that you will be there for us forever. Help us to remember Lord that we can do all things through You who strengthen us. Father a lot of people listening to this are really struggling right now and I ask that you're with them in that struggle. I ask that you help them feel your presence. Lord you are amazing and you do so many things for us and we are so very grateful. Help us choose joy Lord help us to see all the amazing things in our lives. We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with their will and in Jesus is holy name amen.