Choose Joy

Choose Joy - Part 1

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice!

Philippians 4:4 NLT

Obvious benefits living full of Joy

  • Every relationship would be improved. In our marriages and with our children. Toward our parents and friends.

  • Joy is infectious and improves the lives of those around us.

  • A winsome attitude would make our work easier and make us more efficient.

  • We would sleep better and feel more rested.

  • We are more patient and willing to listen.

  • Joyful living honors God.

  • Living in joy helps fulfill the purpose we were created for.

  • Addictions would be less likely to begin and easier to overcome.

  • It improves every area of health.

  • We are more resilient and antifragile. Instead of breaking, we can bend and grow when trouble comes.

  • It's just a better and more satisfying way to live.

Homework: Spend some significant time this week imagining and daydreaming what your life would look like full of joy.

Reasons we're skeptical of joy

  • Me. I'm a terrible billboard for joy. Many Christians seem miserable and misrepresent Christ to the world and one another.

  • We believe continuous joy is just a fairytale. It's just ridiculous impossible thinking.

  • We lack authentic, real-life examples.

  • We can't conceive of being able to control our emotions.

  • If we really had access to genuine joy, wouldn't we have discovered it by now?

  • I'm anxious. It's tough putting on the uniform and even less likely I'll hit a homerun.

  • It's just too good to be true.


I believe joy, even continuous joy, is possible

I won't pretend to live there, but I believe an authentic and inextinguishable joy exists. I am determined to discover it and own it as quickly as possible. I don't believe God has called us to live a life of frustrating failure chasing after what doesn't exist. I believe incredible joy is available and we must take up the challenge of how to take hold of it.

Lies we believe about joy (and other emotions)

  • We can't experience opposing emotions simultaneously.

  • We are helpless in our experience of feelings. Reason doesn't play a role in how we feel.

  • We treat joy as a destination rather than a journey. Joy is not an end-product but a by-product.

  • It's temporary and episodic.

  • It's like a shooting star that just appears and is gone... if you're lucky. It's not like a tree that is cultivated and nurtured to produce fruit.

  • We can't accept knowing that we frequently sabotage our own joy.

  • Joy requires too much energy to sustain.

  • We believe popularity, acceptance, money, things, health, and winning in the arena of opinion will yield sustainable joy. It's evidenced in the way we live and by what we seek.

The definition of joy

Joy is the "I found it" feeling. Three stories about lost things in Luke 15 describe joy in this simple way. Joy is what you feel when you find your missing wallet or cell phone.

The reason for immovable joy

Luke 10:20 NLT

But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

Romans 4:7-8 NLT

“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. [8] Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.”

Colossians 1:22 NLT

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

5 Benefits of being "in the Lord"

  • Registration assured - Our names is registered in heaven.

  • Records annihilated - Our sins (and they are many) are forgotten, removed, and forever done. (Luke 7:47)

  • Reconciliation announced - We have ceased being God's enemies and have become His friends and His family.

  • Righteousness applied - We share the holy, blameless, and faultless character of Christ.

  • Readiness available - We can with boldness and without hesitation anticipate acceptance from God and approach Him to ask what we need.

What does it mean to be "in the Lord"

Some of us are less than certain about our standing before God. We are often too embarrassed to admit confusion about this important issue. There are two pages I hope will bring crystal clarity to this issue. The first is Right With God, a study on how we are made right with God. The second is CERTAIN, a study on how we can know for sure we are right with God.