More Than Happy: The Secret to Joy When Life Hurtsنموونە

Once we start resisting Satan’s efforts in our lives, he often pivots and tries another approach. If he can't convince us that pain eliminates joy, he tries to say that what's happening here temporarily on earth determines whether we can experience joy.

However, joy is based on something eternal, not something earthly. Jesus told his disciples your joy is not based upon what's happening on earth. Even amidst persecutions, false imprisonments, and lies about you, joy comes because of what's happening beyond this moment in heaven, eternally. This goes back to the reality that God offers us rich joy, but it's unfinished because this is not all there is.

The Greek word for rejoicing is chara. But there's another Greek word I was reminded of, charis, which means "grace" or "unmerited favor." The root of joy in our life is attached to grace. When we receive the grace of God, it births joy in us because we realize we didn't deserve this favor. We haven't earned God's love. We've received it as a gift, and it begins to birth in us a deep sense of gratitude and joy.

My friend Dave shared something powerful about his experience with his dad and their attempt to get to a Cowboys game. When he was going through adversity, he locked in so that he could only see that pain. But, Dave coached his clients through his leadership development company to take a moment to step back and breathe. He had helped hundreds of people expand their field of vision so they could see everything that was happening in any given moment.

At that Cowboys game with his father, Dave took a deep breath and stepped back in his mind. He reflected on all the things that had to happen to make that moment with his dad possible. Immediately, he was overwhelmed with gratitude. “To be beloved that much by God - wow! That God would move all those things for that moment with my Pops, that's overwhelming.”

As if God wasn’t good enough, the Cowboys heard about what had happened with Dave’s dad. The following season, Dave used those tickets to take his oldest son to a game and continued that tradition. His father had said years earlier, when his grandkids were born, "Make sure and take them to a game like I took you." That day, Dave was crying in a different stadium - tears of gratitude and joy. He missed his dad, and he had joy as he shared the moment with one of his sons.

When you take a step back, you, too, can see how God weaves the painful moments into a beautiful story. That story can continue to fuel joy in your life.

The fruit of the Spirit, like joy, is not an objective that we achieve, but an outcome we experience. We can't just say, "I'm going to be more joyful this week." That's how you get fake joy!

Joy has to be an outcome that the Spirit works in us, as we remain rooted and dependent on God’s grace. This is why Jesus told his disciples of the importance of remaining or abiding in John 15. We need God's power to experience God's joy. As we soak and marinate our hearts and minds in His word like we marinate a piece of meat before we cook it, we find a more profound connection growing with God. With roots in God's power, those connections bear fruit, including joy.

On the final day of this plan, we'll explore practical ways to cooperate with the Spirit in cultivating lasting joy.