Choose Joy
By Trisha Winter
Monday - 12.14.20
How do you define Joy? Joy is not an internal feeling like happiness, Joy is a choice, a decision; like many of our faith choices in Jesus. We feel joy when we are happy and when life is going in our favor. Yet, how do we choose joy in hard times? How do we choose joy when we simply don’t feel it? We choose joy by choosing Jesus, accepting Him by faith and allowing joy into our hearts. Joy will push back the things that make us unhappy and feel down. Choosing joy changes our perspective. When a loved one is sick or passes on, we feel grief but as we recall good memories we are choosing joy. Willie Jennings, Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School. When asked how he defined joy he said, “Joy is an act of resistance against despair and its forces.”
Choosing joy shifts our perspective. Joy is choosing a peace of mind where even in the difficult times we are able to push forward and live our lives to the fullest. God gave us joy in Him and in the things Jesus did for us. In John 16:22 (ESV) Jesus states: “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
Joy can be difficult to describe. For some, joy is with us always. It is a joy we feel day to day but can not see. 1 Peter 1:8 (ESV) says, “Though you have not seen him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” We choose joy much like we choose to have faith. It is one of those unseen mysteries of God. Joy comes from God and the things He has done for us through His son Jesus. Kahlil Gibran wrote, “The deeper sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” Before finding my faith, joy for me came from my children. On a daily basis I did not have joy in my life the way I have it now. My children gave me joy, but if I was not in a good mood I didn’t really feel joy. However, now with Christ in my heart, I have joy daily. I choose joy daily. I choose to look at the positive in my life and to not dwell on the negative. Joy for me came the day I walked into church (May, 2017) and felt like I was home. The day God chose me to be His. I chose joy 3 years ago (October 1, 2017) when I gave my life to God our Father through Jesus and I was baptized.
During this time of Advent, we look forward to new beginnings. The biggest of all those new beginnings is the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus brought us all joy, from the beginning of his life till the time it was taken and even after, as we all await the time He comes again. If you have been struggling, make this Advent a new beginning to choose Jesus and to choose joy. Choose to make Christ your joy. Jesus is alive and wants to be alive in you, through joy. Choosing joy doesn’t mean you ignore your own emotions. Choosing joy is laying those emotions at the feet of Jesus, through prayer, and walking away with joy in Jesus - knowing He is with you.
Call to Action
Pray and reflect on the following passages this week:
John 15:11 (ESV) - “These things I have spoken to you, That my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
John 16:16-24 (ESV) - “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV) -”Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Reflection:
What does joy mean to you?
What does joy look like in your day to day life?
Can you practice joy as an act of resistance against despair and its forces? How do you celebrate joy? How do you make room for joy in your life?
Is joy a constant in your life, or does it come and go, why/why not?
