Cultivating Joy

It's funny how when you plan to write something, the Enemy uses it to attack you, isn't it? I've been contemplating and formulating this post in my mind for a few days. Trying to formulate a concise message to talk about the fruit of Joy in our lives. It's become the thing I'm struggling the most with. I've been so discouraged these past two weeks, for many different reasons. I haven't not been producing the fruit of joy. I haven't been feeling joyful, and I don't really think I've made other people feel joyful.

I *hope* that we all know that happiness + joy are not the same thing. Happiness is a feeling, it goes up and down, it comes and goes, it's here one moment and gone the next. Joy however is a choice, and truth, a way of living. How do we get that joy, how do we choose joy, how do we keep joy?

True lasting joy is not found in things, people, or situations. There is no house perfectly furnished, no long lasting marriage, no job, no location or amount of children or amount of money that can bring us lasting joy.

Do those thing bring happiness, and even some joy? Yes!

Are they evil? No!

But if we want to stop the endless grasping for happiness that never sticks, we have to go to the source of true, lasting joy.

There I will go to the altar of God,

to God—the source of all my joy.

I will praise you with my harp,

O God, my God!

Psalm 43:4

The Lord is the SOURCE of our joy. Only in walking with him will be able to choose joy despite our circumstances. Only in getting on our knees at His altar can we be filled with His everlasting joy.

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

Part of what steals our joy in this life is that we are lost, we don't know where to go. But the Lord shows us. He leads us and guides us where He wants us to go.

Where does He want us to go?

With HIM.

He wants us to follow Him. When we are in His presence, we not only have joy, we have FULL joy, as much as we could ever get.

The Lord is our Joy.

So as you search, you struggle, you get discouraged, you wonder if you will ever find joy...

Remember this:

In the presence of the Lord is everlasting joy.