I've Got Joy

Heart Prep

Help me be joyful even when I do not feel like it.
I know joy comes from You, Lord, and I want to be filled with You every day.
 Give me joy so I can share more about You with those around me.

Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Life doesn’t always make us happy: adults seem unfair to us; friends betray us; life is confusing; bad things happen that we don’t understand; death and sickness are all around us. There are a lot of bad things happening in the world, so it is hard to be happy all the time. Yet, James writes that we should count it all joy every time we face hardships (James 1:2-3). How do we find joy in the hard stuff? How do we rejoice when we hurt? How do we praise God when we are mad at Him or don’t understand why He let something happen?

We have to remember what true joy is. Joy isn’t a feeling that changes with circumstances; that’s happiness. You can be happy one minute and sad the next because feelings change. But true joy is from the Lord. When you are in a good relationship with God, you can find joy even in the midst of pains and hardship. Paul writes in Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” When we fully trust in God, we can also trust that He has a plan for this pain. We don’t rejoice in the bad, but we find joy knowing the One who is going to make things alright in the end. It may be hard to find joy in every circumstance, but with God, we can rest assured that He can fill us with joy if we ask and trust in Him.

Life Application

How does God give you joy?

Do you think by being joyful you will be better able to share Jesus with other people?  How?