A Joyful Life
This [day in which God has saved me] is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24, AMP)
Do you know that the word joy is mentioned over a hundred times in the Bible? Wow, there must be something to this. So let’s take a look at some of these Scriptures and see how we can live a life of joy.
“…Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
We don’t have to spend our time grieving about the mistakes of yesterday or worrying about what tomorrow holds. The strength that the Lord provides is enough to carry us through each day that we face. The joy that He provides can help us face each moment as it comes. May the joy of the Lord continue to strengthen you each and every day!
“A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.” (Proverbs 10:1)
We see in this Proverb that joy and wisdom are a package deal. We find this wisdom in God’s Word. The more we glean from the Word of God, the more joy that will develop in our hearts. Our hearts will become fountains of overflowing joy, as we consume God’s Word and make it part of our daily lives. There is so much joy in understanding how to live an abundant life for Christ. May we continue to bring joy to our Father in Heaven through gleaning wisdom from His love letter!
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)
Paul was in prison when he wrote Philippians and he expressed the importance of staying in a state of rejoicing. Rejoicing in all circumstances is a choice. We have a choice to be joyful at all times! There is only one person who can keep us down. It’s ourselves! I can be joyful or I can choose to be dreary! I can see all the great things that God has done and will continue to do or I can focus on all the negative stuff. I choose to rejoice! I want to stay in that place of rejoicing! God’s goodness is all around me! He has done too many great things to dwell on unimportant issues and things that do not deserve my attention. I will choose to rejoice in the Lord always!
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)
Joy comes from being connected with Jesus. When we read the verses before John 15:11, we find invaluable information. John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Our joy is complete when we are dependent on the source of life. We have to remember that our lives cannot bear true fruit without being connected to the VINE OF LIFE! God produces the fruit in our lives through our constant surrender and our dependence on His goodness! Is your life producing the fruit of Joy?
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Dear Father God, I pray that I will continue to be joyful in all things. You have been so good to me and Your faithfulness continues to amaze me. May I respond by living my life in complete surrender to Your ways!
Joyfully Yours,
What a wonderful message and one that gives hope! You are so right on. Jesus told us that in this world we would have many problems but that we were to take JOY – for he has ovecome the world!
Too many times we focus on our problems and troubles and not the fact that a Sovereign God is over all of them and he is working all things out for our good. We can have joy in all things because God is using all things to mold us into the image of his Son, Jesus.
You have an awesome site. Thank you for your faithfulness.
Thank you for this great response! We are definitely overcomers through Jesus Christ. Victory is ours! Trouble seems to be a common thread in the Christian life, but through God we have the strength to overcome it. Taking up our cross daily is not easy, but the retirement plan is so worth it!
May God continue to find us faithfully following His ways!
In His Grip of Grace,
Sarah
Awesome post. Thank you for sharing. Life can be tough and get one down at times. But Jesus is our source for joy. I have been amazed with Paul, what he went through and the joy he had. You are right, rejoicing in all circumstances is a choice. God bless.
Ken,
Thank you for stopping by! Yes, joy is something we find in God and often it’s a choice. It amazes me the times that Paul found joy in his circumstances. God brings joy to us when we take our eyes of our circumstances and put them on Him. He will never fail us! May God continue to bring joy to your life!
~Sarah