I believe God wants you to ENJOY life not just ENDURE it. In John 10:10 (AMP), it says, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."This verse tells me that God doesn't just want us to be ALIVE, but He wants us to ENJOY being alive! He wants me to live with JOY - ABUNDANT, OVERFLOWING JOY!
I've met too many people that seemingly aren't happy. They have a scowl on their face all the time, rug burn on their chin and they're always tripping over their lower lip.
My passion as a pastor and teacher of God's Word is to help people learn how to live the life Jesus died to give us! I've also learned in my own experience that if you don't have JOY, then no matter what you HAVE or what you DO or how great your circumstances may be...it doesn't mean much.
Where do you get the JOY from?
Jesus said in John 15 that if we will ABIDE in Him, we will experience God's will for our lives, and everything Jesus has will be OURS!
ABIDING means MAKING Jesus the most important person in our life, LIVING and REMAINING in Him, and making everything in life REVOLVE around Him. That's when we bear the FRUIT of a godly life. And that's when God's TRUE JOY is explosive in our life!
Focusing on Jesus has BENEFITS! For one, when I'm focused on Him, I'm not focused on my problems, politics or people. PEACE comes easy and JOY is FULL!
I'm not waiting on WHEN!
I know so many people who think that they will really be happy and enjoy life WHEN...when they go on vacation, when their kids are older, when they get that promotion, when they get married, and on and on.
I understand this thinking, because I spent some of my life thinking the very same thing. There was a season that I even thought about that in ministry. I wasn't enjoying my responsibilities and the activities I was leading. I HAD TO LEARN to live in the moment and enjoy what God was doing in me and through me NOW...not WHEN I was able to take a breather and go on vacation.
Someone needs to hear this right NOW...not WHEN!
As a Christian, you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in your life. He is the HELPER who gives us supernatural strength and anointing to live this ordinary, day-to-day life with the JOY of the Lord!
I'm learning more EVERYDAY that the JOY OF THE LORD is my STRENGTH! (Nehemiah 8:10)
What is JOY?
It's not about always having to be ENTERTAINED.
It's not about always GETTING YOUR WAY.
It's not about LAUGHING all the time.
Joy can be intense LAUGHTER and even a settled CALMNESS!
The Bible says in Proverbs 17:22 that "a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing..." Interesting enough, studies even show that laughter has good BENEFITS!
- Laughter release ENDORPHINS. (A chemical in your body that relieves pains and creates a sense of well being.)
- It can boost your ENERGY level. Which can relieve tension and improve your attitude.
It's no wonder the devil wants to STEAL our JOY and get us discouraged, depressed and distressed! His job is to steal, kill and destroy. But we don't have to give in to him and lose our JOY!
Lighten up!
Joy is a CHOICE! Choose today to start enjoying life, no matter what! Don't be so serious about everything! Laugh at yourself! Refuse to be frustrated! Remember that God loves you! He knows everything about you and loves you anyway! That ought to make you smile right there!