Maintaining Joy

How do you feel today?

Are youJOYful?

Sad?

Tired?

Full of expectation?

Does the promise of a new week excite you?

Make you anxious?

Or depressed?

The Holy Bible says that God wantsto give usJOYunspeakable,even in the midst of ourday-to-day problems. (1 Peter 7:8)

I like the way The Message translation of the Holy Bible explains it:

^“I know how great this makes you feel,even though you have to put up with every kindof aggravation in the meantime.Pure gold put in the fire comes outof it proved pure; genuine faithput through this suffering comes out proved genuine.When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold,that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.You never saw him, yet you love him.You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—withlaughter and singing.Because you kept on believing,you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation.”

But with all of life’s pressures,how do we maintain ourJOY, our laughter, and our singing?

The Apostle Paul told the Ephesians thatone way was to keep themselves from excess,stay full of the spirit, and speak to yourselfin psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.(Ephesians 5:18-20)

Another way is to let the word of Goddwell in your hearts. Meaning, think aboutGod’s word and let it soak in your spirit, etc.Also, the Apostle Paul says“do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.”(Colossians 3:15-17)

Jesus himself gave a clear path to joy in John 16:23-24:

“…Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shallask the Father in my name, he will give it you.Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name:ask, and ye shall receive,that your joy may be full.”

But how does all this translate to our lives in a practical sense?

Starting every day with prayer and Bible readingwill lay a goodJOYfoundation. I usually readmy Bible while having my morning coffee andthen spend at least 30 minutes talking and prayingto God, worshipping Him, inviting Himinto my day, and telling Him about my concerns.

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, circumstancescrash into our lives that threaten to steal ourJOY.

Whenever I am going through a particularly stressfultime at work, I write out aJOYScriptureorsome other verse from the Bible that speaks to my struggleand put it in a prominent place on my desk.This simple act of meditating on God’s word nourishesmy spirit and feeds myJOYbecause every time I lookat it, I am reminded of God and His promises.

I also have aJOYPlayliston my Ipodthat I use frequently at work.

Listening to upbeat worship songs helps meto focus on the greatness of God and this, in turn,feeds myJOYas I realize that there is nothingin my life too big for God to handle.(Jeremiah 32:7)

The words I use also determine my level ofJOY.

The Holy Bible says that death and life arein the power of the tongue.(Proverbs 18:21)

The Message translation of this verse sums it best:

“Words kill, words give life;they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.”

As you can see, there are many ways to maintain ourJOY.

I’ve offered a fewJOY MAINTAINERSthat work for me, but would like tohear how you maintain your JOYon a day-to-day basis.

Leave a comment and join the conversationso that all ourJOYmay be full.