Count It All Joy!

All men seek happiness. Every decision we make is driven by that. We don’t make a single move without happiness being the desired byproduct of our decisions. We turn over every rock and look behind every tree believing that we will find it in whole or in part, but are we ever satisfied with what we find? Well, the truth is, we will never always be filled with joy. And the fact is that we live in a sinful, fallen world where two realities coexist. As stated in Ecclesiastes, “There is a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance; a time for war and a time for peace.” But there is a way to find joy in the midst of our contrasting and chaotic lives. In the midst of all the calamity and heartache, we can have inner peace and joy.

Our Father in heaven sent His one and only son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross on our behalf in order that our sins be forgiven so that we might live eternally with Him. That alone should cause us to rejoice all the time. But we are a forgetful people and we take for granted how truly blessed we are. So in order that we might remember why we ought to rejoice there are steps we must take.

FIRST we have to train our thought life. Our thoughts are a powerful thing. They can have a major influence on how we function daily. Our thought life can be defined as a constant conversation we have with ourselves each and everyday. They can either be positive thoughts or negative thoughts. If negative thoughts dominate our mind we will no doubt experience negative results. However, if positive thoughts permeate our mind we will most likely experience positive results. “The way we think determines the way we feel and the way we feel influences the way we act.” Satan is always ready to plant some kind of lie or negative thought into our mind. He is the father of lies. But we have the ability to either believe those lies and allow them to destroy us, or we can turn from them, and open God’s word and meditate on what is good and what is true. If we decide to think on the negative side of our circumstances it will surely lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and disappointment. Therefore, changing our negative thoughts to positive ones is essential in finding the joy that we seek.

The NEXT thing we can do is create a prayer journal. So often we find ourselves stressed and worried because we don’t know what’s ahead of us. That is because we have forgotten that we have a great God who has everything under control. We forget of all the times He has been there for us. We forget of all the times His hand has protected us. Or we forget how His hand has directed and guided us through everything. But, by having a prayer journal we can write down our blessings, and our desires, and our worries and all of our prayers. That way it is all recorded and you can easily go back and remember what you’ve prayed for and see God working and answering your prayers.

The LAST thing is to do something nice for someone else. So often we dwell on ourselves, our problems, our hurts and our pasts, but that will never produce joy. We get so caught up in our many responsibilities and feel we don’t have the time to stop and make a kind gesture. But if we take a moment away from ourselves and take someone out for coffee or bake someone some cookies. Whatever it may be, find a way to bless somebody and in return you will also be greatly blessed. “Just remember the words the Lord Jesus himself said: it is more blessed to give than to receive.”(Acts 20)

Sin is a terrible thing and it robs us of our joy. But as long as we are living in this sinful world we must expect a daily struggle between our flesh and the Spirit. As Christians and Children of the Almighty King we have a great reason to rejoice because of the great hope we have in Christ. Though, also in this Christian life, as stated earlier in Ecclesiastes, there will be seasons of sorrow and affliction. But, “God’s design in afflicting His people is their probation, not their destruction, their advantage not their ruin.”(Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible) But, we still have to decide for ourselves each and every day whether we will serve God or give into our flesh. Experiencing peace and joy has nothing to do with our present circumstances but has everything to do with knowing the Lord and trusting in Him through everything.