3 Ways to Experience Joy in the Journey

Experiencing Joy in the Journey

 

  I am overall a very positive upbeat person.  I choose to see things half full and not half empty. I want to find the good in others and in my circumstances. I have struggled along the way to experience the fullness of that JOY in the journey. Too often I have allowed circumstances or people dictate my JOY.  Like most things in life, experiencing that God given JOY in the midst of hard times is a process.  The first thing we must get straight is the true definition of JOY.  Joy is not happiness or meant to feel good all the time. That's impossible. Even for people who are upbeat and optimistic. Yes, it is true we can get joy out of  doing great things, experiencing beautiful relationships, holding our precious baby for the first time and doing something we just absolutely love to do.  All these things are circumstantial. Things change. People change.  Daily we are walking at the same time with joy and sorrow.  Happiness is fleeting and temporary.  Joy is the sustaining grace to enable us to walk through both the good and the bad. This is not of our own, but from God Himself.  As with everything we must look to God's Word and His truth.  What does real JOY look like? How can I experience JOY in this journey called life?

" You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."  Psalm 16:11 ESV

I have learned that JOY is a settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright (Romans 8:28) and it is my CHOICE to praise God in every situation. 

" Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts." Jeremiah 15:16 ESV 

 

 Choose Joy

  "...for the joy of the Lord is your strength" Nehemiah 8:10 NIV   

We have a choice every day to experience joy or not.  Circumstances are not our reliable source of joy. God is. Circumstances, feelings, emotions, people etc are unpredictable. Without His JOY, we have no strength. We have no hope. Daily we must seek God and His Word. Set our thoughts on how good God is. Thank Him for His saving grace. Thank Him for salvation and His mercies that are new every day. Praise Him because of who He is. Our thoughts are powerful to lift us up or bury us deep in despair. I am fully aware that the journey at times is very dark and painful. When we cry out to God, He is faithful to sustain us and keep us in the midnight hours. Paul and Silas were in chains and put in a dark prison.

"Around midnight Paul & Silas were praying & singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening." Acts 16:26 NLT.  

They CHOSE JOY. Because of their choice to worship God in the midst of their journey, God did miracles and Salvation came to many that night. 

  "You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth." Isaiah 12:1-6 ESV

 

Give to Others what You Need

" Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 NIV

 The best way we can find joy in our every day journey is to give to others what we need in the moment.  When we are discouraged and feeling hopeless, pick up the phone, text, send an IM or write out some cards. Pray for someone. Go visit someone in the hospital or at their home. Pour into others what you need.  Come up with creative ideas to brighten someones day.  Flowers, balloons, cookies, Starbucks etc. Or maybe a financial "seed" can be sown. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you who and how. Pay it forward. If you want to experience JOY in the midst of pain, then this is one guaranteed way to find it.  Every time I make the CHOICE to give to others what I need, God lifts me up and fills me with joy. Don't wait to FEEL like doing it. Just DO IT! There is no denying that what we do for others brings great joy to our hearts. As we do for others, God is doing for us ALL we need from Him. 

"You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound". Psalm 4:7

Keep a Good Attitude

"The disciples were filled JOY and with the Holy Spirit." Acts 13:52

 

 Blame, complaint, and self-pity destroy our joy in the journey.  We must fight against going down the murmuring path.  It is a daily training of the mind of focusing on the good.  Focus on what is TRUE and what God has done in the past. Choose to put the words of God in your mouth and not what you may feel in the moment.  The only way we can maintain a good attitude on the journey is to do what Paul says in Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your mind."  Our attitude needs an adjustment daily. We must set and reset. Guard our hearts and minds. Choose to BELIEVE God is working and He is for me.  Choose to BELIEVE that GOD has a plan and it is good. (Jer.29:11).  The mind is a battleground. Our thoughts affect our attitude.  When I choose to meditate on the Words of God and His love, I walk in JOY. When I keep a right attitude in the midst of  hardship, God takes notice.  Laugh! Lighten up. Take notice of the little things. Learn to wait well. A good attitude releases healthy endorphins in the brain.  A good attitude will take us a long way on the journey.

 "A happy heart is good medicine and a JOYFUL mind causes healing,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22(AMP)

Blessings,

Robin

YOUR TURN:  How do YOU experience Joy in the Journey?

I would love to hear from you!