God never intended for us to go through life miserable... sad.. depressed.. bitter... or angry.

Galatians 5:22-23- "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (KJV)

Galatians 5:22-23- "But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things." (ERV)

Galatians 5:22-23- " But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely." (The Message) 



JOY

A feeling of great happiness.

Delight. Joyfulness. Jubilation. Triumph. Rejoicing. Happiness. Gladness. Glee. Elation. Exuberance. 


When I think about the word JOY, I think about a deep-rooted happiness. One that doesn't waver based on circumstances or situations. Things might not be 'perfect' in our life during this moment, but our happiness comes from the fact that Jesus loves us and is in the middle of our mess. 

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." God is working everything out in our lives... for our good. How can we not joyful, regardless of what is taking place around us??


I've Lost My Joy

I've been there.

I've lost my joy.

I've lost that happiness that is rooted in Jesus Christ. I've tried to fill it with so many temporary things. And you know what happens? Well, that temporary stuff makes me extremely happy. For a minute, an hour, or an evening. But when I wake up in the morning, I'm back to being that lost, broken, miserable woman that God did NOT call me to be.

Anxiety stripped a good bit of that joy from me as well. But here's what God showed me when I started complaining about that-- "YOU LET IT." Yes, those were the very words I felt come to my mind when I started saying, "I didn't want this. I didn't want to be miserable, but You let anxiety in and here I am."

God didn't allow anxiety to steal and kill my life. He allowed it because I let my mind run away from the blood of Jesus. I stopped bringing every thought under His subjection. I stopped thinking about what is pure, true, virtuous. 

I read a quote once that said, 'Joy is a decision, a really brave one, about how you are going to respond to life.' Joy is a decision. We can let ourselves become miserable, bitter, grumpy people. It's simple to do. It's a decision. Or, we can put on our brave boots, pull our life together, and make a different decision: I'm going to be joyful because God loves me.... because God is working everything out for my good... because God is holding me in His arms... because I'm alive and breathing.

Psalms 51:12 states, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit."

If you feel like you've lost your joy today, He is just a prayer away. He WANTS to restore that. David was in the same place during Psalms 51. He began this chapter by begging God to have mercy on him. He was begging for repentance. Begging to be washed clean. David was guilty of adultery and murder. He orchestrated a plan of events in order to get another man's wife. Psalms 51 is a psalm of confession. He acknowledged his sins. He sought to be purged from those sins. And He asked God to restore His joy--- 

sin has a way of stealing that from us.

When we let sin creep in, guilt, bitterness, and anger typically follow... and we let it occupy our minds and then..

Guilt overpowers joy.
Bitterness overpowers joy.
Anger overpowers joy.

And soon, we are left with a broken, sad, unhappy person.

God, restore our joy today. Restore that true happiness that is not circumstantial. We ask You to heal our souls- heal our hearts. 

What Will We Choose Today?

Henri J. M. Nouwen said, "At every moment of our life we have an opportunity to CHOOSE joy." What are we going to choose today?

Are we going to choose to be bitter about our situation? Sad? Depressed? Angry? Jealous? Our are we going to be a conscious decision to be joyful, regardless of what the circumstances look like? Joyful because we might not know what tomorrow holds, but we know WHO holds tomorrow?

Nehemiah 8:10 says, "....The joy of the Lord is your strength."

John 16:20 says, "... but your sorrow shall be turned into joy."

Romans 14:17 says, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."

2 Corinthians 7:14 says, "....I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation." 

1 Peter 1:8 says, ".... ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:"


The Bible is full of verses discussing joy. Men of God going back and forth between serving God... falling in to temptations or facing devastating circumstances where there joy seems depleted... back to serving God and seeking forgiveness... 

They were just like us.

David sinned and felt his joy was gone.
Job lost his family and felt stripped of his true happiness.
Paul was consistently under tribulation and had to remind himself where his joy came from.

The difference is... they realized their situations, they realized they couldn't continue to wallow in their circumstances... and they started the journey back to Jesus Christ-- the fountain of our UNSPEAKABLE joy.

I Choose Joy.

God never intended for us to go through life miserable... sad.. depressed.. lonely... forgotten.. bitter... or angry.

John 10:10 says, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." 

He came for us to have an abundant life overflowing with all of the good stuff-- love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, a humble spirit.

We can't let the thieves of bitterness, jealousy, complaining, anger, sadness, anxiety, fear, depression... steal our joy.

Today, I choose joy.

"Life can be hard, choose joy anyway!"

"I find joy in every day, not because life is always good, but because God [ALWAYS] is." Our situations might not feel good at the time, but He is still good and is still trying to work that mess out for OUR good. 

And one way to help Him work on that mess... is to have joy, regardless.

What decision are we going to make today?

Are we going to pity ourselves?
Are we going to wallow in our situation?
Are we going to choose bitterness?
Are we going to continue to live life miserable?
Are we going to see only the negative part of our life?

Or

Are we going to fall on our knees and pray for God to restore our joy?
Are we going to read the Word of God until joy finds it's way back to our hearts?
Are we going to CHOOSE happiness?
Are we going to trust God?
Are we going to FIND joy in every day?

It is up to us...

not our circumstances.

It is OUR choice.

How do we want to live our lives?


Today, I choose JOY.


"Gratitude, not understanding, is the secret to joy...." [Anne Lamott]

Jesus, today we choose to be thankful for all that You do for us. We might not understand our circumstances right now, but we thank You anyways! Thank You for dying on a cross for us. Thank You for loving us. Thank You for Your forgiveness.. for Your mercy.. for Your grace. Please restore the spirit of JOY in to our lives. We ask You to wash away our sins... all of that gunk that has built up in our hearts. Please Jesus, cleanse us so that we can draw closer to You... and while You are cleansing, we ask that You replace our sadness, our bitterness, our anger with joy, happiness, and gratitude! Help us to focus on Your goodness as opposed to the darkness. Help us to CHOOSE joy today Jesus. Help us to choose an attitude of gratitude. In Your name, Amen.