“The Lord is my strength and shield. I
trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I
burst out in songs of thanksgiving.” (Psalm 28:7 NLT)
Isn’t it incredible to be around
someone who finds joy and thankfulness in the smallest of things; who on any
given day, in any situation, can find countless opportunities to be joyful? But
for many of us, joy can be a funny thing. When it's taken from us, it's gone
unless we use all the strength that God gives us to hold on to it. Many of us fall into this trap; we allow the enemy to rob us of
our gladness and peace and steal our joy. and we become so focused on this
world and the hardships and internal struggles it can bring. It seems that every
day there are opportunities in life to get upset and lose our joy and peace,
and we can lose our joy for today by worrying about what may happen tomorrow.
However, it is our choice as to whether or not we allow circumstances to ruin
our day, and we can’t allow ourselves to ever become defeated by losing our
joyful spirit.
There are many things Christians need
to be on guard against:
…Letting our circumstances dictate
our joy…
…Not being content with what we have,
where we live, or how we look…
…Allowing others to steal our joy…
…Temporarily forgetting that God is
on control…
…Not going to the Lord in prayer and
thanking Him for everything…
“May you be strengthened with all power, according to His
glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” (Colossians 1:11 ESV)
There are many things we can focus on
for joyful living:
…Count all of our blessings and be
thankful and optimistic…
…Rely on God as our ultimate source
of joy…
…Set aside time each day to simply
relax and clear our minds, and let God’s love dwell in our hearts…
…Learn from our mistakes and others
and have a forgiving heart…
…Do something to make others happy
and put a smile on their face…
Satan’s desire is to kill, steal, and destroy our joy, but
joy and peace of mind are the results of making right decisions; the war is
real but we don’t have to be defeated! When we open our hearts and keep our
eyes on Jesus, we can keep smiling on the outside
and keep a genuine joy on the inside
regardless of the joy stealers who may cross our paths. We can be happy right
where we are! Even in difficult situations, places, and/or crowds, God has
armed us with strength for every battle, and we can have joy in the midst of
that adversity if we have the right approach. Joy is a gift from God and we
should never let the gift of His joy be wasted!
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him ,
so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit.” (Romans
15:13 NIV)
Linking up with:
Love the 1st Joy with the daisy! Joy is one of those blessings that you don't realize how precious it is until it has been taken from you. May we learn to guard that which God has given to us. Thank you for sharing this today. I was your neighbor at Unite this morning :)
ReplyDeleteHave a joyful Tuesday,
Joanne
Thanks for visiting Joanne; it is always a joyful blessing!:)
DeleteI so needed this encouragement Denise. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteJoy and love to you my dear friend; blessings to you too! :)
DeleteDenise - I must confess....I was not exactly joyFULL when I read this post! Again, at the exact needed time, your words convicted me toward truth! Yes, our joy in not in our circumstances, or in other people! Thank you for this reminder & the reality check I so needed today! UNITED in Him ~ Jen
ReplyDeleteSometimes we just need a reminder from HIM to stay full of His amazing grace and joy; HE is the joy in our lives that others witness! :) Blessings sweet sister! :)
DeleteThis reminds me of my pastor's message he delivered a few weeks ago about joy being the x-factor in our lives. Hope your week overflows with joy Denise.
ReplyDeleteSo true Wanda~love that! Wishing you joy this week too dear friend!:)
DeleteThis is so true ... after reading One Thousand Gifts, I began to keep a gratitude journal. How focusing on the things I'm thankful for has shifted my entire focus from finding what's wrong, to finding the many, many more things that are right. So thankful to the Lord for His gifts. Saw your link at Prowess and Pearls, thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteHugs ~ Mary
I kept the journal as well, and yes! It's amazing how I notice and feel everyday blessings so much more now. His gifts are joyful and such a blessing! Thanks for visiting!
DeleteWOW! What a beautiful and inspirational post here Denise!!! I love the scripture you chose... very convicting and fulfilling at the same time. SO glad I stopped by! :) (From Doing You Well)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Chris; wishing you a week of His joyful amazing grace!
DeleteWords spoken so true my friend! As Believers, just knowing that He gave His life so that we could live in eternity, is enough in itself to bring us great joy! Having a heart of gratitude and thankfulness allows joy to come in. Thanks so much Denise and thanks for linking up today! Blessings my friend!:-)
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you too my friend! Always a blessing to hear from you, and my pleasure to link up! :)
DeleteThat's a good post on joy. I went for a long portion of my life feeling no joy. Now God has shown me how to find joy in His Presence and in the simple things of life, sunsets, birds, butterflies, etc. Being in the ordinary moments of life has been a great lesson for me to learn.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peggy; love all those simple everyday blessings that bring joy to my life! :)
DeleteThanks Denise. Your are such a great writer!
ReplyDeleteDear Denise
ReplyDeletePlease allow me to add another thing we need to do to experience the fruit of love, peace and joy! We need to abide in Jesus so that His joy can always fill our hearts. I don't think I would have been able to carry the burden of Fm/CFS without abiding moment by moment in our Pappa's Loving Embrace.
Blessings and much JOY!
Mia
Denise, this makes me remember a song by Bryan Duncan: "Joy Is A Singable Thing." Our joy, even in challenging circumstances, is amplified as we sing "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" in thanksgiving to God for His goodness. Love this post!
ReplyDeleteDenise, we are thinking along the same lines. I really haven't been doing a feature post but I featured you for tomorrow's linkup with WholeHearted Wednesday!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with me!!