Choosing Joy

When everything is going great it’s easy to find joy. The job comes, the promotion comes, the acceptance to your dream college, the degree you worked for, the child you waited for, and so on. All of these bring joy and they all make it easy to find that joy; but, is our joy found solely in the dependence of things going the way we want or think they should be? Reality is things happen. You lose a job, you get out of the blue illnesses that bring crazy medical expenses, the dream college does not accept you, you are unable to finish your degree due to family emergencies, and so on. Life happens, but who you become throughout life is solely determined by where your joy is found. Do you find joy only when it is easy to do so? When the cards your dealt are appeasing? Or, do you fight hard to find joy in every circumstance that God allows your way?

For the love of all that is honest, the biggest thief of my joy is my own self not liking when God is inactive. When I say inactive, I do not mean God is stagnant, because God is always active. I am, however, talking about when I want Him to make something specific happen now and He does not. I am talking about the times trials come that seem to last forever or one after another. I am talking about when I think I have done everything right, but God allows things to happen to me that I did not ask for or want. Lastly, I am talking about the times I feel God failed to protect me from danger. This thief of joy is none other than a lack of trust in God.

One of my close friends back home said something that has stuck with me ever since she said it 7 months ago:

“Its really choosing to fight for joy in everyday life” – Madison Renaud

The context of what she said is in the blog I wrote “Trust Fall” where I hit rock bottom in every area of my life. (If you have yet to read it, please do. It is a good portion of my testimony over the last year.) My friend and I were catching up and she was encouraging me to fight for the joy in life when it is hardest to see; because, in everyday there is joy. While some days it’s easy to see and others you have to do some searching to find it, everyday has joy to be found. I know this because, in James, God uses James to write encouragement to the persecuted Jewish believers. James was well aware of the trials faced by these his brothers in Christ; yet, he uses words, such as, “count it all joy”. If I was the original reader, my response would have been none other than: “You have got to be kidding!” with an obvious amount of sass and disrespect. Nonetheless, James says to count meeting trials with joy, ALL joy.

James 1:2-3 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

I am not saying it is easy. It is not and that’s why in James we see “count it all joy”. It is a reminder to have joy when it is not at all natural or normal. Why? Because, the trials you face, and these Jewish readers were facing tests faith and produces perseverance. This is where the song “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson should be racing through your head. What does not kill you DOES make you stronger, but you have to first choose to not allow it to kill your joy.

The devil loves when we belittle ourselves, hit depression, or worry about everything because it cripples us from moving forward when we get caught in our self. He is described as a lion seeking someone to devour! We must stay alert and focused on the big picture and remember the enemy that is watching for an opportunity to attack us. The natural response to trials is depression and anxiety; but, our calling is to find joy in the truth that we will come out of the trial as stronger in faith and strength. To stay alert, we must not dwell on the things God has yet to do; but, focus on what God has done.

For me, I see God providing in the intricate ways of certain income coming in at the day before a bill is due or the timing of people coming into my dorm room to just say hi and it being a time I need an extra word of encouragement or hug. I see God in the two days in a row I had a class cancelled and got to relax with a book I have been wanting to read for ages. I see God in the protection of my mental state as He placed me in an environment of loving and supportive brothers and sisters in Christ here at Clarks Summit University, away from the origin of my childhood trauma. I cannot even describe just how amazing it is to see where God has provided! We must focus on what God has done and trust He will continue to provide for us and work in us until the day we are together with Him in glory.

Philippians 1:6

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

When it is hardest to find joy, the trust I have in who God is and what He will do is pushed to the limit. We must guard ourselves with the truth of God's promises and remember nothing we go through changes the promises He has made to us through His word. No circumstance changes the provision of God. No mistake changes the love of God. No plan that falls through the crack changes the presence of God in our lives.

Let your joy come from what God has done and do not let your joy be taken by what he has yet to do. Trust his timing, plan, and purpose for you on this earth. With trust comes freedom unexplainable from all the what if’s and how’s that flood your mind every day. The freedom from worry of what will be is where joy lies. Joy lies in the arms of trust in a God of miracles. How will you choose joy today? In the midst of all that comes of life, will you still choose to focus on joy, or will you focus on all that’s going wrong? Look for God’s hand and you will see it. Ask for God’s strength and you will receive it. Look for joy and you will find it.