Tag: #Joy

Filled with joy. Doesn’t it sound amazing? To be filled with joy? I think so. There are days where being filled with joy are easier than others.

This is more than having a positive mindset. Although a mindset can make all the difference in success instead of failure. No, I’m talking about a joy filled life where the trials which impact our lives on a daily basis can’t extinguish the light emanating from our joy filled life.

You know those people that seem to glow from the inside? You almost want to go up to them and ask what beauty products they use or what vitamins they put into their bodies. They seem to have tapped the fountain of youth and kept it all to themselves.

I would argue it’s these people who embody the joy of God, the joy of forgiveness, the joy of grace and the joy of eternity. When we keep our eyes on finding our joy in God, we can glow like this too.

How can we cultivate a joy filled life? Here are four ways.

Remember what we have. We can have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe. He is concerned about the little things and the big things in our life. God was so concerned with us not being left behind He sent His Son, Jesus to take on our sins and create a pathway to eternity in heaven. John 3:16 (NLT) “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Remember we are priceless. We have been bought at a price. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT) it says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” What was the high price we were bought for? The blood of Jesus on the cross. God wouldn’t have sent His Son to die for us if He didn’t view us as priceless and worthy of eternal life.

Pursue the Gift. God has given us the gift of eternal life, but He won’t force it on us. We don’t have to wait until heaven to experience a joy filled life. We can be filled with joy by pursuing a relationship with Jesus. He is a loving God who wants us to voluntarily come to Him. When we come before Him and ask Him to be part of our lives, we become filled with gifts of the Spirit. One of those gifts is joy. In Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT) it says, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” It’s our human nature which gets in the way of these things shining through us. However, we can surrender all we have to the One who creates a joy filled life and be brimming with the fruit of the Spirit.

Accept forgiveness. Sometimes a lack of forgiveness keeps us from living a joy filled life. It could be not accepting forgiveness which God freely gives. In 1 John 1:9 (NLT) it says, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” There are sins in my past which I’ve had problems letting go of, even though I know God has already forgiven me. It took someone praying over me to lift this burden. We also need to accept forgiveness from others. Someone may have forgiven us for a wrong we have done. Instead of accepting this, we continue to live in the guilt of this wrong. Another way forgiveness can keep us from living a joy filled life is not extending forgiveness to someone else. Yes, they may have done us wrong, we could be the only one who knows, and they haven’t come to ask for forgiveness, but we still need to forgive them. By withholding forgiveness, we only hurt ourselves and we will not have the opportunity to live a joy filled life.

Do any of these points keep you from living a joy filled life? How do you live a joy filled life? Share it in the comments below to encourage others.

Life is a journey. Hopefully, we are all able to take a long journey. But, are we finding joy in the journey, no matter how long it is?

It’s one thing to go through life as if we are trudging and dragging our feet in mud; shoulders drooping from the weight of our problems. It’s another thing to move through life, understanding there are trials, but instead of struggling with overwhelm, we accept what comes our way and let it go. Allowing it to pass through us to the waiting hands of God.

God knows we would have troubles in this world. In John 16:33 (NLT) it says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

The victory is already ours to proclaim.

But are we trusting in this promise?

God has already overcome anything this world can throw at us. Does this mean it will be easy? Absolutely not! I’ve found in my own life when the trials are bearing down on me, causing me to question my choices and what brought me to this place, this is the time when my relationship with God deepens. It’s during these times of gut wrenching struggles that God walks beside me and holds me up with holy hands. He allows me to feel His presence in a deeper way.

It’s also during these times of trial that God allows U-turns. Nothing comes as a surprise to God. God doesn’t sit in heaven, wringing His hands, saying, “Wow, I didn’t know Kris was going to go in that direction. I hope she can figure out that she’s supposed to be going the other way.”

No, God in sometimes subtle ways or sometimes our mistakes are on full display for the world to see, He helps us go in the right direction if we allow His still, small voice to penetrate our hearts. God can allow mistakes in our lives to challenge us, to draw closer to Him and to shape us into the people we are meant to become.

I am a very black and white person. Living in the gray areas of life are difficult for me. Indecision makes me looney. My attention to details, my need to make anything fun and filled with laughter makes those around me looney.

But, I’m also the first one to admit that organization is not one of my strengths. I’d say, ninety percent of the time, my house looks like a tornado went through it. Here’s hoping you stop by during the ten percent timeframe when it’s neatly organized.

But God didn’t call me to be the organization queen. There are some awesome blogs out there on organization, but I’m being real here, I probably won’t be one of them. Ever. Neatly displaying a before and after picture of my drawers and closets isn’t in my future. I’m fortunate when I can walk into my closet. Organization is not one of my gifts. Thank goodness He’s given my husband this gift.

Here’s the thing. I really wanted the gift of organization to come easily to me. It doesn’t. I wanted to be the organization queen. I was making myself miserable trying to be something I’m not. Instead of focusing on the journey God has called me to walk, I was walking down another path meant for someone else.

It stole my joy.

Trying to fit into a mold that wasn’t created for us, is a killer of our joy. No matter how hard we work to create something apart from God, He will not bless us with joy. We find joy in our journey when we are connected to the gifts God has given us and we use those gifts to point others to Him.

Are you finding joy in your journey? Or do you need a God inspired U-turn? Share it in the comments below to encourage others.