Today’s title is a play on words I couldn’t resist. It’s very close to Psalm 100:1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth! (MEV) And it fits that when we make that choice to be joyful in the Lord, it might lead to shouts of a joyful life.
Hmmm…..that’s something to ponder.
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance
–Ecclesiastes 3:4.
The joyful person still cries, becomes angry, and disappointed in their circumstances. But it shouldn’t last long.
Kids not listening, a leaking roof, plumbing issues, and bad medical reports happen. How do we respond? Often emotionally. Emotions are natural, but they shouldn’t rule us. They don’t get to be in charge. We can experience those emotions, process them, and get back to dancing.
Don’t allow your circumstances to be the boss of you
Looking at our circumstances and finding joy in them can be challenging because we live in a house with a leaky roof and dripping faucets. It’s hard to separate when you can still hear the dripping, but you can do it.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.
— John 14:26 (NASB)
The Holy Spirit helps us change our perspective from gloom to gladness. That’s His job. He came to help us (John 14:26). We have everything to gain by leaning on Him.
Make surrender the path to recovery
For me, it’s clear that the desire to sit in sadness decreases as joy in Jesus increases. Letting go of self-will, or surrendering the situation, gets easier the more we trust Jesus.
Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash
That doesn’t mean we sit and wait for something to happen. We can patch the roof and fix the faucet, but we can’t mend a heart or undo hurts caused by another, for example. True healing comes through knowing and trusting Jesus.
There is freedom for the believer who leans on the Lord. Give Him your burdens. (Matthew 11:29) In doing so, I believe our recovery time becomes shorter and shorter so that we eventually shed tears of joy, overcome anger with love, and set aside disappointment for a greater reward.
Christ makes us new
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB)
Surrender is not easy. But in doing so, we begin to change as the Holy Spirit begins a work in our hearts. It’s there that He produces joy, among other things like love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). He makes us new day by day. (Read more about the Fruit of the Spirit here.)
Try thinking about it like this. The Holy Spirit is working behind the scenes cultivating the seeds of joy He planted. The more He tills your soil of your soul, the stronger and deeper roots of joy grow.
Making a stand for joy
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
Surrender is not a passive activity. It would be best if you chose to make a stand. Chose to fight for your joy.
As joy in Jesus grows within us, it makes sense that our ability to resist negative emotions, and the pull toward self-reliance, also increases. The choice becomes easier to make every day, so make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!
Choose Jesus and choose to live joyfully.
While momentary trials threaten to steal our joy, we can’t lose heart (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Surrender to Jesus, not your circumstances. He is always there and never changes. At the same time, circumstances can always become worse before they get better.
Didn’t you know you are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:83-39)? You can do this!
In Christ, you can do anything (Philippians 4:13)
Joyful Reflections
- Have you ever allowed your circumstances to keep you in a swirl of negative emotions? Did it last longer than you’d like?
- What are you ready to surrender to recover your joy and decrease your recovery time? (Pride, anger, disappointment) Writing it down because that makes it real.
- What can you do to make choosing joy a habit?
Featured image by Jon Tyson on unsplash
