Where Is Your Joy?

Where is your joy? To be honest, I struggle with joy. I know it is a facet of the Fruit of the Spirit. But it is just hard to be joyful when the world is turned upside down. Why is this? We are Christians. We know the Lord is in control. But yet, we live in fear and depression. Why is this?

1. We do not keep our eyes on the Lord. I mean this in the greater sense. The Lord needs to be our compass, our filter, our bell-weather. We must see all of life in the light of his power and providence. If we are only looking at men to make changes and build our culture, we are in trouble. There will be no joy because man cannot do it.
2. We expect the things of this world to bring us absolute joy. As a tall teenager, I dreamed about winning a basketball championship and playing in a national tournament. I still remember that night in early March. We won our district and were going to the National tournament. It was funny, I was happy. But it was not the deep-down joy I thought it would be. I imagine many people reach a goal and find a similar feeling. They marry the love of their life. They get their dream job or live in their dream city. It is excellent, but it is not that joy we long for in our souls. Only Jesus brings this joy.
3. We only focus on the problems. Men are known for their being fixers. A problem comes, and the first thing we want to do is fix it. We often go through life looking for things to fix. There is something to be said about stopping and enjoying what God has blessed you with in life.
4. Do not let little things become mountains that rob you of your joy. A fly is buzzing around my office while I write this article. I have tried several times to kill it. It would be easy to focus on the annoying little fly, and mind you; it will die. But if we are not careful, the trivial things of life can rob us of joy.
   

The antidote is to look beyond this world to Jesus. He is the one who can bring real, genuine, and lasting joy, even in a world of illogical fear and growing Godlessness. See what the Lord has done and is doing. Take the time to stop and count these blessings. How is your prayer life? Is there significant time given to thank God for all He has done for you. Stop charging forward from problem to problem, and make sure you thank God for His blessings. Ignore the fly; it will die.

Finally, my lovely wife will read this at some point. She will tell me you made some excellent points. But, you need to listen to them. She is not wrong. Even if the world falls apart, we have a joy that the world cannot touch. I think of the words of Habakkuk:

[17] Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
[18] yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation. [19] GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

Habakkuk 3:17–19