This
week has allowed me to take a renewed look at some things I have written in the
past. We have had some great time with
snow days, and the kids have not been in school all week. Sitting and thinking. Doing a little reading.
I’ve
also had a few conversations about happiness and joy that have led me to share
something I wrote a couple years ago.
Let me first say that we must chose joy.
Happiness is not the promise of God, but joy is God’s promise as we
dwell on and live in Him.
Read
on and may God refresh, renew and restore our joy in Him!
Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again! Give us back
the joys we once had!
Let
me give us some ways to keep our joy fresh. I understand that we aren’t
always going to be happy and excited. We can put in place truth that will
let us see through situations.
The
same is true for us. Here are 5 ways to
keep your joy.
1. Know who you are.
You are a child of God. You have been chosen by God and
forgiven. He loves you where you are and how you are. Much like the
people who followed Nehemiah when he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 8:17
NLT
So everyone who had returned from captivity lived in these shelters during
the festival, and they were all filled with great joy! The Israelites had
not celebrated like this since the days of Joshua son of Nun.
The
people had a choice to make. Their lives in slavery were cared for with
food and shelter but hard labor. Their lives in freedom meant hard work
but peace and joy. Choosing joy is easier when we know who we are.
Luke 1:14
NLT
You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his
birth,
People
celebrate Jesus and have joy when we focus on and believe who Jesus is.
Jesus is our joy and our reality.
2. Know that you are forgiven.
Romans 4:7
NLT
Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are
put out of sight.
That is a fact. Take it to the bank. Believe what
God says. We are forgiven completely by what Jesus did based on who He
is.
Psalm 32:2
NLT
Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
3. Know that you are unique, blessed and have potential.
You were created by God. There is no one else like you
built to be blessed and to be a blessing to others. God placed in your
life a boatload of potential. It is my desire to call out that potential
in your life. Believe what God said.
Psalm 33:12
NLT
What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has
chosen as his inheritance.
4. Know you have an awesome future.
Jeremiah 29:11 sums it up the best when God says He knows (and
has planned) our future which is set on hope and greatness. That future
is for you because God loves you no matter what. He wants to fill your
life with joy that cannot be taken away.
Romans 15:13
NLT
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy
and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
5. Know you make your Heavenly Father smile.
We
cannot earn God’s love or preform so well that He will love us more. He
is proud of us just as we are. His love is real and strong. By
knowing God’s truth, what God says, we can apply it to our lives.
Proverbs 2:10
NLT
For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.
God
is pleased with you. It is somewhat like looking up in the stands from
the playing field and seeing your mom or dad smiling and cheering. God is
cheering for you, but the difference is that He is with us all the time.
The
question is this: do we allow the situations of life to rob us of our
joy? By applying what we learn from God and what we know of God, our
lives will over flow with joy!
Honor and majesty surround him; strength and joy fill his dwelling.
Joy is the result of focusing on Christ rather than my
circumstances! – Perry Noble
Comments