In December, as I began reflecting on my normal pattern of making a list of New Year’s resolutions, I sensed God showing me there was a better way. I did some research about the effectiveness – or rather ineffectiveness – of making New Year’s resolutions, and I was convinced that choosing ONE WORD to focus on in 2016 was a wiser choice.
God spoke to my heart that I needed to focus on inward change and my outward problems would fall in line. That made sense. After prayer and several confirmations, I knew what my Word of the Year for 2016 was to be: JOY.
Well, the new year is now here and I’m doing some reading to better understand what JOY really means. First, joy isn’t the same thing as happiness. When my circumstances are favorable, I’m happy. But happiness is just a feeling. When something hard happens, I’m definitely not happy.
On the other hand, Scripture makes it clear that joy isn’t a feeling. In James 1:2, we are told to “count it all joy” when trials come. Other translations say to “consider it all joy.” Count and consider are both words that have to do with the mind, with how we’re thinking. So joy is a choice we make in our minds, and it is unrelated to what is happening to us. Joy comes from God. Not circumstances. Not pleasure. Not possessions. Not a healthy body. Not positive emotions. Instead, joy is a choice to honor God’s Word in spite of everything that is happening around us.
And the determined choice to praise God in every situation.
While the three points of this definition are all important, I think unfortunately one important point was left out. In my own personal experience, joy usually begins when I make the decision to consciously look for something I can thank God for in the midst of my difficult situation.
Gratefulness in the midst of my desert situation has been my most effective entry into joy. During a recent group study of Rachel Wojo’s book, I made a “Gifts in the Desert” jar, using the below graphic. When I’m feeling discouraged, I usually start by asking God to show me His gift in this wilderness situation. Then, I write it on a strip of paper and add it to my jar. For example, I might be feeling down because physical pain is keeping me from attending our Sunday morning church service. But I see God’s gift in the situation – our church services are broadcast live via the Internet. So I record this gift on a slip of paper, put it in my gifts jar, and lean back in my recliner and enjoy watching our church service.
Yes, God is in control.
Yes, everything is going to turn out alright, in eternity if not before.
And yes, I make the choice to praise God in the situation I personally would like to avoid.
But before I’m ready to acknowledge these truths and take these actions, I usually start with looking for God’s gifts in this place where I’d rather not be.
This understanding has made a major change in the way I handle difficult circumstances. I encourage you to try it.
This is a concrete way for me to turn to Him. I look forward to trying this.
Hope the gifts in the desert jar helps you as much as it’s helped me. God bless you as you continue to grow in your walk with Jesus.
I totally agree that JOY is a decision. I have my own personal obsession with the word and in fact have a 6 foot tall display by my front door that spell J-O-Y and I’m pretty sure it is going to stay up all year long! And I’m reading One More Step right now!
Thanks for commenting. Would love to see your joy display – do you have any photos? I think you’ll get a lot out of One More Step. It’s one of the best books I’ve read recently.
So much wisdom here. I like Kay Warren’s definition of joy and the idea of actively looking for God’s gifts in a difficult situation is a great way to refocus our minds on him. I’d like to try having a “Gifts in the desert” jar- it sound like it will be really helpful.
Thanks Carly. The jar has sure helped me, so I encourage you to make one. Even this morning, when our son’s nurse was an hour and a half late arriving, causing us not only to miss our church service but also me to strain my back and need to spend several hours resting in bed, I was able to focus on looking for God’s gifts in this situation instead of getting upset as I used to do in similar situations.