Joy in the morning is more than a hopeful phrase—it’s the fruit of the Spirit, a deep and lasting joy the Holy Spirit grows in believers even in the middle of life’s hardest seasons. Some authors teach that you must choose joy, I don’t agree. (We’ll discuss the scripture reference in a minute.) I say this because I can choose many things–what to eat or how I spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. But joy involves my feelings, and in my experience, it’s very difficult, and darn near impossible, to flip the emotional switch. I’ve never succeeded.
I’ve walked through enough deep valleys of grief and restlessness, and made it through to the other side to know joy is possible, but I can’t manufacture it. And neither can you. That’s not what God intended. This supernatural, sunrise joy comes with His presence, His faithfulness, and His Word. You can’t force joy, but you need to know where to find it.
his presence produces joy
I’m not alone in my struggle with the choose joy movement. I found a kindred spirit on the Joyful Life website. Sandi Warner wrote about this in her article, The Truth About Choosing Joy: Joy is not Chosen, it’s Grown. Sandi shares her restless seasons and bad choices, and the dark valleys she travailed to find the secret to joy. She wrote, “A joyful life is not created by intentionally choosing joy — a joyful life is grown by intentionally choosing Jesus.” Sandi continued to explain that choosing to abide in Jesus is the choice that brings us joy.
His presence will give us joy. It is the first prerequisite. But when we’re struggling, sometimes it’s hard to feel Jesus’s presence. I know. I’ve been there. And when I was going through the hardest year of my life taking care of my sister who was losing a battle with cancer, I couldn’t feel Him at all.
The only place I could experience His presence was under a sunset sky. Every night after I tucked her in bed and kissed her forehead, I’d sprint into the yard to witness God’s artistry. I would breathe in the Oklahoma country air, look up at the pink angel winged clouds covering our heads, and thank Him for this reassurance He was with us. Though He was with us, she experienced eternal healing, not the earthly kind I’d prayed for. After her death, I wondered if I’d ever laugh again. I waded into deep waters of sadness, but I clung to the rope of hope in Him.
Worship restored my joy
Months after her death, the clouds of grief still hung heavy. But ya’ll, He is so faithful. One day I realized how much I missed worshiping Him–personally worshiping Him alone with my hands in the air and my feet dancing. I was staying with a good friend of mine who hummed in another room in the house. As she hummed, I stood and lifted my hands. Slowly, I began to dance. As I worshiped Him, I experienced supernatural joy. The oozing wound closed with each step.
Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4 emphasis mine). How do we rejoice or have joy in the Lord especially when sorrow weighs us down? We do so worshiping Him. We do so by blessing His goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy even when our heart hurts. If worship is hard for you right now, it’s okay. My breakthrough came when I was ready. When I tired of grief’s grip on me.
Studying His Word Brings Joy
Worship helped restore my joy, but studying His Word also encourages my heart. I’ve shared how grief stole my joy, but the truth is, my moods can affect how I feel. If you are human, moods and personality will affect you too. Some of us struggle for joy more than others. We wonder, “If I’m a Christian, Why am I not Happy?” I wrote a whole post on this. In that article, I discuss the battle going on in the heavens for our joyful faith.
“Satan’s number one tactic is to put doubt in our mind of God’s goodness. When we are discouraged we are either mad at God or ourselves. Rather than being upset about being discouraged, see it as a sign you must be doing something the enemy doesn’t like. He must be threatened by the Jesus in you. He’s threatened by your prayers for others, and your gifts and talents that you are using for the Kingdom. Oh for eyes to see what we’re doing for God with eternal perspective! For eyes to see His economy as He views it not with our world’s vision.”
When I’m discouraged, I always find encouragement when I study the Word. Reading the Bible helps, but digging deeper into Scripture has never failed to transform my heavy heart. Remember, Hebrews 4 says that the Word of God is alive. It’s like a doctor’s scalpel that divides our flesh from our spirit. Have you experienced it’s redirection? Has a new understanding of a verse or ancient word sent your feet to dancing?
Recently, a deep dive into Proverbs 28:18 got me excited. It’s often translated as, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” I’ve heard it taught that this means we need to be visionary people. BUT as I dug into the ancient word under our translation, I found it can also mean “revelation,” and I discovered other translations used this word.
Why did this make me happy? Because I had that “a-ha!” moment when it all made sense. When people don’t understand, they do their own thing. I don’t have to be a visionary, I simply need to pray to understand! And you do too. This just gives me joy my friends. And the rest of this verse promises those who follow the law will be happy!
Living on the other side of the cross, living under the law of the new covenant, our law is the law of love. And that love is different from our definition. A deep dive will bring more understanding and joy. Check out either last month’s post on Agape love and or my video about Resting in God’s love.
Joy Bible Reading Plan
I am so excited for us to dig into the Fruit of the Spirit of Joy this month. Click on the image for the free printable. These are my suggestions from the plan: “Grab your journal, Bible, and pen. Pour a cup of coffee or tea and light a candle. You could simply read the verse for the day, but I’m hoping this is a jumping off point for your time with the Lord. I want to encourage you to write the verse in your journal and then write down your thoughts or a prayer reflecting on its truth. Put a star next to your favorites. I pray, like Jeremiah on Day 8, God’s word will make you smile. I pray it fills you with joy.”
Faith Friday and Beloved&Becoming
Join us on Instagram on Friday mornings at 9:00 AM ET for Faith Friday where we dig deeper into the scriptures on the reading plan, or subscribe to the Beloved&Becoming podcast/video for the teachings there. Beloved, you are already cherished, becoming flows from that place. Let’s grow together.