joy

“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

As hard as it is to accept, joy is a personal choice. I’d much rather think the opposite-to claim   that people and circumstances steal my joy. I hate the idea that the reason I don’t have joy  sometimes is because I’m not choosing it. 

I don’t know how high your joy meter is right now, but I can tell you on the authority of God’s   Word that if it’s low or if it’s lost, you can find it again in the person of Jesus Christ Himself. You can choose the joy found in following Jesus. 

Sometimes people who have known the Lord for a while get bored. They think, There’s gotta be   something more, something better, something different and off they go in search of some kind of

  unbiblical extravagance to satisfy that itch. To that, the apostle Paul posts a big warning sign in Philippians 3:16-14:

  “Forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead . . . I press on!”

Instead of longing for more or better or different, God calls us deeper and stronger. Philippians 3   continues, “hold true to what we have attained.” 

If you want to choose joy every day, then hold fast to God. Keep depending on Christ. Do you still  lean on Him as completely as when you first came to the Cross? Is every step with God one of   dependence and faith? What uncertainty lies ahead? What obstacle are you being called to conquer right now? Do you want joy amidst those challenges? Say, I can’t do it, Lord; only You can do it in me.

What do you need to do today to regain lost joy? Maybe you need to stop trying so hard in your own strength to be what God wants you to be and move back into that dependent, Christ-centered approach to life. Remember that the same way you came to the Lord is also how you’ll grow in Christ.

  

Want more joy? 

Get back on the track of desperate dependence on God and abiding faith.