A Strategy For Joy

It had been a long week full of challenges for me.

I don't remember what all the challenges were, but the main thing I remember is that I’d had many moments of overwhelm, many moments where I wondered if I could make it through another day of more of the same.  

But now, as I trudged onto the beach, a sense of joy flooded my soul. Here I was, in one of my “happy places”, alone with God. 

You see, Kevin had given me the morning off to spend some time alone with Jesus while he watched the girls.

I knew where I wanted to go, how I wanted to use that time. I was going to take a long, long, long, uninterrupted walk along the beach. Just me and Jesus.  

The waves crashed, the white sand glistened in the sunlight, the sounds of seagulls could be heard, the smell of salty water filled the air, and I felt a sense of awe settling over my soul.

I looked around at others there and wondered if they felt it too. How could they not? This was God’s creation, awesome beauty for all to see and feel and taste and touch.  

I knew He was with me on that walk. And He was using the ocean to show me something I needed to see. 

Something I needed to take home with me into the challenges I would face.  

Something to treasure in my heart and nurture so that it could grow and become the catalyst for joy in the daily, mundane, difficult and inconvenient aspects of life that tend to knock the joy right out of me.   

You see, I began to realize as I walked that sandy beach that awe was fueling my joy. The more beauty I saw, the more amazed I felt at the God who created it and the more joy welled up within. 

The verse in Psalms that says, “Mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore, the Lord on high is mightier than these!” echoed in my mind.

I could see power on display before me in the breakers, beauty being shown in vivid array in the way the white sand stood out from the dark, surging waters, the creativity of a mighty God for me to touch, hear and see.  

Oh, let me tell you, God created us to experience and to live full of joy. Joy in who He is. Joy in the works of His hands. Joy in relationship with Him and with others...  

And then Jesus made it possible to have enduring joy when He sent the Holy Spirit without measure so that “your joy no one will take from you.” (John 16:22) 

But what happens when our circumstances make it seemingly impossible to have joy? What then?  

Most of us don’t live on a beach with dazzling sunsets, or on a mountaintop with breathtaking views... 

Most of us wake up to another day of, well, drudgery, another day of the same-old same old.

So, what do we have?  

I have some news for you. If you are in Christ, you have everything. (Col 3:11) 

If you are in Christ, you have access to the throne room of the very God who created the beaches and the mountaintops. (Hebrews 4:16) 

If you are in Christ, you are a new creature that is dazzling to behold because you were made so by the God who recreated you. (2 Corinthians 5:17) 

If you are in Christ, you have been given the ability –the power, the grace, the strength, if you will –to respond to those joy-knockers differently than the rest of the world does. (2 Peter 1: 3) 

But how?  

I think it’s all too easy to breeze past the little inconveniences in our lives that make us irritable and unhappy and see them as just that –irritating inconveniences.  

But what if we faced those inconveniences head-on with the weapon of prayer, asking God to give us a better response than simply becoming irritable and unhappy?

What if we walked into each day with the expectation that “inconveniences” will happen, instead of hoping they don’t and letting them ruin our day when they shock us once again? 

What if we chose to laugh in the middle of our inconvenient moments because they are making us weak and God has His opportunity to show Himself strong instead of accusing them of ruining our day? (2 Cor 12:9-10) 

AND THEN... 

What if we took the offensive instead of the defensive as we enter each day?

What do I mean by that? 

Well, let’s see.... 

Awe produces joy, my friends. I don’t think we are ever in awe over something beautiful and amazing without having some level of joy and pleasure within.  

But awe is something that has to be cultivated. And usually, it happens as a result of something we see or hear.

Awe comes when we take time to really contemplate the glory, the beauty, the grandeur of God. 

Awe comes when we truly look at God with our spiritual eyes and enjoy His presence with us.  

Awe stirs within as we look around at all peoples and cultures He created and then recognize that despite the diversity, we who are in Christ are one in Him.  

Awe happens when we take note of His many gifts that He gives us on a daily basis. 

Awe wells up within when we put our guard down and receive God’s personal, ever-pursuing love for us.

Awe is inspired afresh when we look deep into the eyes of our children and say “I love you.” 

Awe comes when we tell them the things that we like about them. 

Awe rises up again as we see their faces brighten because they know they are loved. 

Awe happens when our spouses light up because we went out of our way to do something that showed them that they matter.  

Awe comes when we take a moment to sit still and admire the blue skies, the peaceful scenery, the flowers, the trees, the baby sleeping in our arms, the toddler who delights in simple pleasures, etc.  

Awe can be a result of doing something out of the ordinary to love and serve others in our lives. 

Awe happens when we set aside distractions and really look at the many good gifts around us...  

But how often do we look? How often do we actually allow the micro and macro beauties that we are surrounded with to fill our senses and have their intended affect –to produce worship and awe and fuel our joy?  

We have a God who gives us many good things, my friends, but too often we are swallowed up in the things we don’t like that we hardly take notice.  

I challenge you today to look up and away from those inconvenient things. Notice the God who is with you, the intricate ways He’s created those around you, the many gifts –small and great- that He gives you and let them awe you. 

This is my strategy for joy... Will you join me?