Living a Joyful LifeSample

Don’t Trade Joy for Expectations Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Anticipation, if not well managed, can rob us of our joy. The Psalmist said, “ This is the day that the Lord has made…” not yesterday, not tomorrow, not the future, but today. Yesterday is a memory; tomorrow is a prospect; but today is a gift. Enjoy it. God’s pattern of provision focuses on one day at a time. When God provided manna for the Israelites, he instructed them to only take enough for the day. Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause food to fall from the sky. This food will be for you to eat. Every day the people should go out and gather the food they need that day . I will do this to see if they will do what I tell them." ( Exodus 16:4). When Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray, what we now know as the Lord’s prayer, one of the lines says, “Give us today, our daily bread.” These patterns aim to teach us a life of daily absolute trust and faith in Jesus. Eventually, all our hopes and aspirations will come true if they align with God’s will, but trading our joy and peace of mind for those grand moments is not God’s desire for us. Friends, eventually, you will buy that property; you will get that job; you will buy that car; you will have that beautiful marriage and happy home; you will have those beautiful children; you will get that degree; you will get that healing, but while those realities are still in view, live. We don’t have to live so uptight, waiting for the big moment to live a joyful life. Enjoy each day as a gift because it’s not coming back. Find joy in the little things. Smell the roses; feel the sunshine; enjoy the rain. Life will give you one thousand and one reasons to be sad, hopeless, and cynical; all you need to do is turn on the news. Is it war and terrorism; is it natural disasters, suicide cases, starvation and hunger, murder and robbery, kidnapping and child molestation? There is enough going on around the world to be sad about, but you have to be intentional about living out your joy. Sometimes, we have to leave the big stuff for God to solve while we play our part. Only God can create a world of absolute peace, void of tyranny and chaos. Starting today, take your joy away from that goal. Life is defined by moments, and these moments become memories we later cherish in our twilight years. Plan for tomorrow, but don’t live there. Remember, today is the day that the Lord has made. Be glad and rejoice in it.