When It’s Hard to Find Joy

Ever lost something just walking from one room to the next?

Glasses, keys, phone.

Frustrating isn’t it?

I know the feeling. We are not losing our minds, we’re crowding them-with obligations and agendas fighting for brain gigs.

Then there’s joy.

Unlike keys, we can’t hang joy on a hook by the front door.

As believers, we are in Christ, and Christ is in us. Joy is in us.

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11

Fact.

Yet, when things get tough, we’re just not feelin’ it. Facts derail on their way from head to heart.

And we sure can be hard on ourselves for it, can’t we?

When what we know and what we feel don’t jive?

It doesn’t mean we don’t believe.

So what do we do with that?

Time to pack our measure of faith and go on a journey.

Because fullness of joy requires active participation; finding it, choosing it, and making a joyful noise.

So why does joy seem to elude us when we need it most?

Here’s the truth about joy. It’s supernatural; supernaturally deposited in us by God. It cannot be measured by heartbeats or brainwaves, or feelings. It may seem life’s hardships succeed in snuffing it out, but the flame still burns. Brightly.

We are speaking of a fruit of the Spirit. It’s not happiness, it’s joy. They are not interchangeable.

You can be happy or unhappy, but there’s no such thing as unjoyful. It’s not a word, I checked.  So there can be joy, even when our feelings dictate otherwise.

We know those tough days well, don’t we? Intermittent or strung together, each one fragile like glass.

But God brings beauty from ashes, a yoke that is easy, and tells us fear not.

And on those days when it’s hard to pray, God hears the cry of our hearts.

On those days when we can’t string words together, we can read His word out loud. Use His words, pray His word.

Start with Psalm 91.

Who hears when we speak the word audibly? God, the enemy, and us. Affirmation, confirmation, and communication with the Most High God. It never comes back void, even through all of our voids.

Sometimes we’ve got to force our spiritual eyes open. Joy is worth fighting for, and evidently we can use it to fight back.

Check this out:

When Margaret Feinberg learned she had cancer, she knew she would need great strength to overcome it. She believed the weapon she selected for the battle would change everything. And she decided that weapon would be joy.

“Joy Is More Than Whimsy.
It’s the Weapon You Can Use to Fight Life’s Greatest Battles.” ~ Margaret Feinberg,  Fight Back With Joy

If you’d like to read more about Margaret, and how she is fighting back with joy, here’s the Amazon link to her book:

“Fight Back With Joy”  Good stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Back-Joy-Celebrate-Greatest/dp/1617950890/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430576673&sr=8-1&keywords=fight+back+with+joy

I’m not receiving any incentive to promote it. Her story inspires, and she is more than her cancer diagnosis. She’s a new creation in Christ. She’s a popular author, speaker, but most importantly, a Jesus following joyful child of God.

When face-deep in the trenches,

Don’t give up. The Lord fights for you.

Even when it’s hard to breathe. Our earth-planted feet have purpose.

In the worst of it, lift your right hand because He holds it.

And what about that worst of it?

God works it together for our good. All things. All of it. Trust Him.

Even when we don’t feel it, or we feel too much,

or we feel nothing at all.

So we trust God always, on the good days and hard days;

Because our feelings don’t measure truth, and our feelings can’t measure joy. click to tweet

All this fighting back can zap our human strength. The joy of the Lord is our supernatural strength.

And He wants our joy to be full. Through Love.

Don’t be afraid of the dark; He’s there in our darkest, and He is our Light.

If this has encouraged you, please share it.

Share what has helped you reclaim joy in your life.

Love In Christ, and May Your Joy Be Full,

Doris

Do you know Jesus?

He knows you personally, and wants you to know Him.

Hop on over to the Meet Jesus tab and learn more about how you can have supernatural joy in your life.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. www.biblegateway.com

4 Comments

  1. tpcsufian

    I think joy eludes us when we need it most because God wants us to endure the pain long enough to be grateful for when the joy does come around.

    • Doris S. Swift

      Thank you for your comment tpcsufian! We do learn much through trials and suffering. I love how James 1:2 tells us to count it all joy when we fall into various trials, knowing the testing of our faith produces patience. It doesn’t always feel so good, to go through tests, yet it is good for our spiritual growth. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, evident in all believers who live out faith in Christ, so although it doesn’t come and go like happiness, I totally agree, the hard times cause us to appreciate all our many blessings all the more. God uses it all for our good, and that is something to be exceedingly grateful for. Thank you again for stopping by and conversing! Have a blessed week in the Son.

      • tpcsufian

        Thank you so much. And God bless you too.

You have Successfully Subscribed!