{"id":6131,"date":"2025-04-14T06:47:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T10:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/learn\/?p=6131"},"modified":"2025-07-30T10:53:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:53:35","slug":"joy-filled-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/learn\/voices\/joy-filled-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Live a Joy-Filled Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We all want a bit of joy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commercials advertise for it. Politicians claim voting for their party will bring you joy. Apparently even eating certain foods will conjure a bit of joy like a magic potion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the thing is, joy is different than happiness. Happiness is based on circumstances, like buying the latest car or whether your politician won or eating a piece of chocolate. Happiness is external. But joy is transcendent. Joy comes from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we surrender to God, when we know Him, we see life differently. Joy is the fruit of knowing Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why believers can even have joy in suffering as James writes, \u201cConsider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds\u201d (James 1:2<\/a>, NIV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps, we don\u2019t even know how to experience joy. Joy can be a scary emotion. It feels a bit like anxiety<\/a>. It feels like the bottom is falling out, like we are out of control\u2026 because, we are. It is when we reframe that freefall as surrender, we turn anxiety into joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you’re like me. You\u2019ve lived in survival mode for such a long time, waiting for the next crisis to happen, that you can\u2019t allow yourself a bit of happiness. Joy feels like an indulgence. Sometimes it even feels dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve heard \u201cThe joy of the Lord is your strength\u201d (Nehemiah 8:10<\/a>). It comes from a verse in the book of Nehemiah. After seventy long years in Babylonian exile, the Israelites returned to their land, shell-\u00adshocked. They felt guilty for the lack of faith that had put them in exile to begin with. They were weeping and mourning when the prophet Nehemiah gave them a word from the Lord: \u201cDo not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told them to cook a feast to celebrate the rebuilding of the wall around the temple. The message was clear: It was time to live joyously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Banner<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Maybe like the Israelites \u2014 or to a much lesser degree, like me \u2014 you have suffered. Maybe you don\u2019t feel like you can be joyful, don\u2019t know how to, don\u2019t deserve to. But joy can follow suffering. We should not be frightened of it. Rather, walking through joy and suffering allows us to see the disparity between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do we live a joy-filled life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gratitude<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Joy begets joy. Joy is the presence of God in our life. He tries to grab our attention in quiet whispers, in a way that is very specific to each of us. Notice where He is calling to you in love. Life is filled with small moments of grace. The big ones don\u2019t come that often. Look for those small moments of where Jesus is breaking through with His grace. For one person it may be nature. For another, chanced encounters with a stranger. For another it might be working through a tough problem at work. God reaches out to each of us specifically according to our personalities and interests. Notice these things. Acknowledge them. Thank God for these small mercies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book Surprised by Joy<\/em>, C. S. Lewis writes of moments throughout his life when he found joy. When he became a Christian, he realized that all those moments of joy happened when God was present. Joy was when God was pursuing Him through imagination, education, and relationships. Lewis equated joy with God Himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joy doesn\u2019t have to be something big. It is the small stuff that builds a joy-\u00adfilled life. God is there in those moments. When I share joy with others. And when I let Him, His joy, be my strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be in the Present Moment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jesus tells us, \u201cDo not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?\u201d (Matthew 6:25-26<\/a>, NIV). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to be very present to the very moment we are in. Where is Jesus in this moment? Is He here with our family as we make dinner? As we laugh or maybe even argue? Of course, He is. When we practice being in the moment, we will notice His presence in our everyday lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we practice being in the very moment with Jesus, we see small moments as holy. Peeling an orange, folding laundry or sitting in silence all pulsate with His presence and holiness. And, when we live in the present, the future is less scary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surrender to Jesus and His Plan for You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22<\/a>). It is the fruit of knowing Jesus. We know Jesus when we surrender control over our lives to Him. He has a better plan for our lives than we could ever imagine. Even when things get difficult, when we surrender control to Him, situations that once seemed difficult are viewed in a new light; in light of Jesus being with you to walk through difficult situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do not wait for the big things to happen but find there is abundance today. Each day holds joy in the mundane and the magnificent \u2014\u00ad we just need to learn to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions for Reflection and Discussion<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"Cover<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n