Joy is Contagious....But You Have to Catch it First

 Where is your joy? Where do you find it, or rather, who or what supplies it? It's a good question to ask ourselves, and even more important is the answer. Joy is described as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Being group-hugged by my family makes me feel incredible joy. Watching my insanely happy ,fluffy white dog come bolting toward me every time she sees me reflects not only her unrelenting joy, but ignites mine as well. I'm not sure there is a finer joy than the sweet smile on a baby's face when you smile at them, but I'm sure we could put our heads together and come up with hundreds of thousands of pure joyful moments. Things that make us happy are the best things! I love to watch people talking about the things that bring them joy. They turn into beacons of light, shining and reflecting on everyone around them. 

That's the great thing about joy. It's contagious, or it should be, anyway. It's also self-generated, to a point, and then passed on to others. When a baby first discovers her toes with her hands, and then brings them to her face for a closer look, what a joy it is to see her face light up with amazement. Secondhand joy can be just as exciting as our own, and sometimes even better. It's when we experience joy bubbling up within ourselves, and then oozing onto others, creating a shared moment of intense glee.  When we are happy to see the joy in others-in their love for God, for others, nature, in their accomplishments, their blessings-we will share that same passionate happiness inside too. There is a reason for the saying, "Jumping for joy", because it is a feeling of intense happiness. When is the last time you felt this way? Did you know you could create this feeling on your own? 

Groups of believers who unite in demonstrating the mind, love and purpose of Christ bring joy to others. Philippians 2:2

The bible defines joy much the same way, except that joy is dependent on who the Lord is, not who we are, and not what is happening around us. True joy comes from God, His presence, and living hopefully and confidently in His purpose for our lives, no matter what happens. 

The joy of the Lord is my strength. Nehemiah 8:10 

Joy is a choice, as is happiness. We can either sit around and grumble and whine about everything that is wrong with everything and everyone, including ourselves, or we can discover our toes and be joyful. When we find ourselves feeling surrounded by enemies or being too focused on negativity, we need to make a conscious decision. Are we going to sit and stew, or are we going to be thankful about the things that God has done for us already? Do we have a working body? A place to sleep? Hot water and food? A car to drive? A friend? A pet? Hobbies? Interests? Nature to observe? Are we loved? Yes. That's a given, because God loves us already. We have so much already to be grateful for, and yet we sometimes get so focused on all the things that hurt us and steal our joy right out of our hearts. We steal our own joy sometimes worrying about what we don't have. And even if there are some things we need, but we don't have them yet, we can still find a way to be thankful and trust God for those needs. 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 

 Joy is a fruit of the spirit that we received with our salvation.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 It is one thing that can give us peace within a storm, even when the storm rages on, because it is within the storm that we find our strength, and our strength is God. Joy is not often immediate, but it is everlasting when viewed spiritually. Joy and happiness are not interchangeable. No one is happy when difficulties arise in life, but if we know that trials are going to reap eventual joy, we can rest in that. We can trust God for protection and shelter as we go through the storms of life, and they will be rough at times. Life can be hard, people can be tough, a health crisis is scary, and there is a lot of sadness to spread around, but we can still have our gratitude, create our own happiness, and rely on the Lord for what we need, inside. When we are peaceful in our gratitude, despite our needs, others will see that as joy. When we are relying on God, in spite of our circumstances, we will be able to share that with others as joy. Joy is gratitude. Gratitude is joy. 

Why is it that we have such a hard time leaning on God when things aren't going "our way"? Isn't that when we should be spending more time with Him? Yes! When we are feeling joyless and weak, we need to spend abundantly more time praying and more time leaning in to our blessings that God has given us. This is not the time for "woe is me" thinking, or the "why me?" mentality.  Forget the woes and whys, the complaining, and negative thought train, and begin to dig out the joy. Thank you, Lord, that I have a voice with which to speak, and help me to use it for thanking you for taking care of me, instead of complaining.

Dealing with daily chronic pain and illness and joy don't always go hand in hand as seen by the world. To be honest, there are days I don't feel very helpful,  productive, or "happy" by the world's standards, whatever those are. But inside, I know where to find joy, and I can be at peace, when I choose to stay there.  I trust what God is doing with me, because I know I have a greater purpose. He's not going to leave me hanging. I may not know what my outcome is going to be physically, and sometimes I get frustrated with myself, my conditions, limitations, and doctors, but I don't get frustrated with God. I understand that I may be going through this for the sake of others, and each day I am grateful for what I'm NOT going through. 

I remind myself that this world is not all there is, and however I choose to use this struggle will either be for my benefit or my deficit as a person. I find joy in His love for me, and I seek out the many things that bring joy to my heart-nature, animals, music, gardening, reading, laughter, writing, baking, and creating paper art. I look for ways to stir my heart and stimulate my mind, and I believe the Lord helps me with this so I can encourage others to find their joy and passions as well. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 3-4

 Choose gratitude, and let the joy of the Lord be your strength.