Choose Joy

What is Joy

We talk a lot about Joy and how we should have it

We are supposed to be joyful people

How do we do that when everything is crashing in on us?

Is joy just putting a smile on my face and driving on?

Or is it deeper?

Joy and happiness are intertwined but they are not the same.

Joy is a fruit promised:

Galatians 5:22 CSB

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

If you a follower of Christ - it is already there - just usually untapped

If you have no joy, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere. - Billy Sunday

The difference between joy and happiness lives in the mind and heart.

Joy is a little word. Happiness is a bigger word.

Joy is in the heart. Happiness is on the face.

Joy is of the soul. Happiness is of the moment.

Joy transcends. Happiness reacts.

Joy embraces peace and contentment, waiting to be discovered.

Joy runs deep and overflows, while happiness hugs hello.

Joy is a practice and a behavior. It’s deliberate and intentional. Happiness comes and goes blithely along its way.

Joy is profound and Scriptural. "Don't worry, rejoice." Happiness is a balm. "Don't worry, be happy."

Joy is an inner feeling. Happiness is an outward expression.

Joy endures hardship and trials and connects with meaning and purpose.

A person pursues happiness but chooses joy. Choose joy. Practice joy. Know joy. Live joy. Feel happiness.

Today thats what I want to look at.

Not how to find Joy - that is in Christ and Christ alone

How to tap in to that which is already there.

Psalm 30 CSB

A psalm; a dedication song for the house. Of David. I will exalt you, Lord, because you have lifted me up and have not allowed my enemies to triumph over me. Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you healed me. Lord, you brought me up from Sheol; you spared me from among those going down to the Pit. Sing to the Lord, you his faithful ones, and praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor, a lifetime. Weeping may stay overnight, but there is joy in the morning. When I was secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” Lord, when you showed your favor, you made me stand like a strong mountain; when you hid your face, I was terrified. Lord, I called to you; I sought favor from my Lord: “What gain is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your truth? Lord, listen and be gracious to me; Lord, be my helper.” You turned my lament into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, so that I can sing to you and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Let’ pray

Choose Joy

Joy is a choice we make.

As followers it is there waiting for us

Psalm 30:4–5 CSB

Sing to the Lord, you his faithful ones, and praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor, a lifetime. Weeping may stay overnight, but there is joy in the morning.

Choose Joy

I want you to see clearly - worship is tied to us experiencing joy

If you only worship on Sundays - no wonder joy does not follow you through the week

When I drive to work and listen only to news - rough start

When I put on music and I am singing - good start

Pathways to Joy

Choose to praise Him in your victories.

Psalm 30:1 CSB

I will exalt you, Lord, because you have lifted me up and have not allowed my enemies to triumph over me.

Pathways to Joy

Choose to praise Him in your victories.

Everything we are, have, and do is because of Him.

Colossians 1:16–17 CSB

For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.

Pathways to Joy

2. Choose to call Him in your defeats

Psalm 30:8–10 CSB

Lord, I called to you; I sought favor from my Lord: “What gain is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your truth? Lord, listen and be gracious to me; Lord, be my helper.”

Pathways to Joy

2. Choose to call Him in your defeats

Joy is not necessarily the absence of suffering, it is the presence of God. - Sam Storms

You are going to have set backs

We are going to fall down

Christ meets us where we are at - in that hole or pit

Loves us enough not to leave us there

Question is will you trust or blame Him in those moment

Difference between experiencing Joy or not

Pathways to Joy

3. Choose to proclaim His grace and strength over your life

Psalm 30:11–12 CSB

You turned my lament into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, so that I can sing to you and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Pathways to Joy

3. Choose to proclaim His grace and strength over your life

Joy is tied to worship

It must be a daily occurrence

It is trust today and looking forward when it shall be complete

Choose Joy

There is no virtue in the Christian life which is not made radiant with joy; there is no circumstance and no occasion which is not illuminated with joy. A joyless life is not a Christian life, for joy is one constant recipe for Christian living. - William Barclay

Choose Joy

Joy is there already if you know Christ - we just need to cultivate it and let it grow

Outside of Christ - you may know happiness, but you will not know joy

Today I choose Joy no matter my circumstances;

My God is bigger than my circumstances

He is better than anything this worlds offer

I leave you with this: Elizabeth Elliot who lost her husband to tribes men and then went back to minister to the same tribes men:

The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. 'If a man will let himself be lost for My sake,' Jesus said, 'he will find his true self.' - Elisabeth Elliot

What do you choose today?