A Joyful Journey

ARE YOUR BAGS PACKED for a joyful journey? Joy is an essential quality to take along as we travel through life. I define joy as an inner delight of the Spirit that is dependent on a relationship with Jesus, not on circumstances.

A favorite joy verse is, “Rejoice [find joy] in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Paul wrote this when he was under arrest and chained to a Roman soldier; yet he responded to his circumstances with joy because of his relationship with Jesus. To Paul, real joy was possible all the time, every moment, with everyone, in every circumstance. Always!

Explaining joy is not easy, but it’s even harder to live out like Paul did in the midst of life’s challenges. My joy bubble bursts when I am crushed by harsh words, when someone I trust disappoints me, and when my long-anticipated plans unexpectedly fall through.

What about you? Were you overlooked for a promotion? Did someone take credit for the job you did? Does your family not appreciate you? Joy killers take a toll. Yet you and I have a choice to make when our joy is tested. If we choose to let circumstances rule our emotions, we will lose our joy. I have searched to find my lost joy too many times.

Joy is not the same as happiness. With the right circumstances, we can be happy, but happiness rises and falls like the ocean waves. Joy is a choice, a decision we make not just once but throughout each day for as long as we live.

In a yellowed stack of scribbled notes, I found my poem about a time when I struggled to choose joy:

I must choose joy!

I can’t wait until

My kids are grown

My house is clean

My to-do list is done.

I need joy in the midst of

A new challenge

A midlife crisis

A busy season

A gloomy day.

I choose joy now to

Change my heart

Influence a friend

Overflow to family

Represent my Savior.

So how do we choose joy? The question is answered in the person of Jesus:

I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

What a relief that I don’t need to reach down deep to hoist joy to the surface like buried treasure, or labor long hours to conjure it up. I make a choice—I choose joy when I attach myself to my Savior, and He gives me His joy. Joy results from walking with Jesus, talking with Him, and staying connected to Him just as fruit is connected to the vine. I connect to Jesus and obey the Scriptures in the same way Jesus obeys and connects to His Father. Joy is not an emotion we can fake; it is a by-product of abiding in Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Joy is from the inside out, and our inner joy is evident in our countenance: “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face” (Proverbs 15:13). It is Jesus’ joy in us that overflows to everyone around us.

REFLECTION

Take time to commit this short passage from John 15 to memory to make it yours. Then, as you proceed on your journey, make the conscious choice to stay connected to Jesus, whose supernatural joy will overflow from His heart through yours to impact the people you encounter along the way.