Is it God's plans for us to have joy in our lives?

Here's the Precious Prodigal post for September 1, 2014: Is it God's plans for us to have joy in our lives? #choosejoy #Godsplan Please "Share" using this "ShortLink" = http://bit.ly/1q2N9vi

John 15:11 "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

Those of us who love a prodigal are probably much more familiar with sorrow than we are with joy. How could we not be? It isn’t easy to rejoice when your prodigal has been arrested or is living in the streets, your spouse has abandoned you, the bills aren’t paid, and your life is in total chaos.

Like me, you already know we need to stay faithful, to trust God in the midnight hours, and to hang on to hope. You probably even agree that God is someday and somehow going to use our pain for our good and His glory. But joy? You must be kidding me! And yet that very thing…that joy…is God’s plan for your life and mine.

That God’s plan for our lives includes our enjoying that life is so basic that it’s one of the four Core Beliefs of “Precious Prodigal.” The Scriptures are clear that we are meant to enjoy our spouses, our work, and all the days of life that God has given us. It is our “portion under the sun.” (Eccl 9:9) Jesus takes it even further by saying in John 15 that His desire is for our joy to be full.

There’s some truth in the quote by Abraham Lincoln that says, “"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." However, I’m right there with you in loving a prodigal, so I know that finding happiness or joy is a greater challenge for us. And all the trite sayings and bits of “wisdom” from people who haven’t suffered like we have aren’t going to help.

So how can we find that elusive thing called joy, and is such a thing even possible when our hearts are broken? The short answer is that it is indeed possible, or Christ wouldn’t have said it. And He didn’t say it to wealthy, comfortable, happy people who had everything going right in their lives. He said it to His disciples who were going to suffer incredibly and who, all but one, were going to lose their lives for Christ.

Joy isn’t some ethereal, spiritual “New Age” state of mind that you get from listening to Enya or humming some mantra. Joy is a feeling of great happiness that is so intense it is more like delight. That’s the happiness…the joy…the delight that God wants you to have in your life.

We aren’t going to find that joy as though it were a seashell on the shore. Nor does our joy need to depend on another person. Perhaps the best way to learn how to have joy is by looking at some of the reasons we don’t. Over the next several days, we’ll be looking at some of those reasons. For today, it’s enough to know that joy is one of God’s gifts to you and to me.

Challenge for Today: What might happen if, just for today, we began to look for the sources of joy in our lives?