You all know those “tests” on Facebook where you answer a few questions or you pick your favorites in a series of pictures and you find out what state you should live in or what your name should have been, etc. Well, the other day, all I had to do was type in my name and I was told what word I should focus on in 2016-JOY. OK…that is pretty generic and could apply to just about everyone as we close out 2015 and prepare for a new year, right? Be more optimistic, find the good in all circumstances, be happy no matter what comes your way.  I think most of us are content when the good stuff is happening in our lives…when we have money in the bank, when we are healthy, when our relationships are going well, when the kids are behaving, etc, etc…but what about the hardships?

Over the next several days, I was inundated with references to “joy“…I would scroll down on Facebook and see a bible verse about “joy” or I would notice a decorative rug in my powder room with “JOY” on it, or I would reach for a coffee mug and there was Snoopy..with the word “joy” on it; I was shopping and saw something that reminded me of my friend Joy; then I notice my friend’s tattoo on her wrist-“joy” and then a few minutes later the author/speaker at my bible study talks about “parenting with joy!” OK, God…what are you trying to say, here?! I’m listening.

Let’s look at the definition of JOY–“a strong feeling of great happiness; delight; a state or source of contentment or satisfaction.” Joy is a fruit of the Spirit…the more time you spend with God, the more time you spend immersed in the Word, the more you focus on the blessings in your life….you just might discover JOY!

Kay Warren has come up with her own definition of JOY-“the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life; the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.” Philippians 4:11-12 says,”I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity.

Do you remember these verses from your childhood? Did you sing it at church or in Vacation Bible School?

I’ve Got the Joy In My Heart

“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart

Where?

Down in my heart!

Where?

Down in my heart!

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart

Down in my heart to stay”

I don’t think most people can sing those words and really mean them…not all the time anyway…I can’t…can you? Those words are deep down in a lot of us…those feelings might be there; we may feel them trickle out from time to time, but they aren’t oozing out of us ready to infect those around us!

I can recall asking my daughter, Cassidy, when she was about 6, what she thought “joy” meant and she triumphantly exclaimed, “It’s when you want to shout ‘YIPPEE!'” The sweet innocence of a child…HER joy was all over her!

And then there is the acronym for JOY–

J-Jesus

O-Others

Y-Yourself

I should focus first and foremost on Jesus, then other people and their needs and lastly, myself. I should spend time with Jesus, read the bible, listen to praise and worship music, pray, minister to others and have “an attitude of gratitude.” The things we fill our time and energy doing will fill our hearts, our minds and our attitudes.

Psalm 30:5 reminds us that “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

Steven Curtis Chapman has a song “Do Everything” and it speaks to all the mundane details that go on in a normal day…matching up socks, sweeping up cheerios, picking up toys for the 15th time that day….”do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you….” It is certainly not easy to be excited about irritations and interruptions, but we are here on this earth for a much greater purpose….to honor and glorify Our Father! In Nehemiah 8:10, we are told “do not grieve, for the JOY of the Lord is our strength.” As for ME….I choose JOY!

Do you have room for Him? Will you prepare your heart for Him? Will you let HIM fill you with JOY! “JOY to the world…the Lord is come…let earth receive her King…let every heart prepare Him room”….YIPPEE!!!

 

 

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