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Being Confident Of This

Grace for the work-in-progress woman

Are You Hungry for Joy?

March 21, 2014 by stultsmamaof4 15 Comments

We hear people say it, “choose joy” as if it is a thing readily available for the taking.  Just reach out and grasp it and it’s yours to keep.

And some think they’ve found it in a nice house or pretty clothes or a fulfilling relationship, while others are just plain hungry for it.

We think we find joy in children’s laughter, walks on the beach, sunny days, a good book. We claim joy in date nights, a healthy bank account, a successful career or ministry, good health, full stomachs, any and all of those blessings we’ve counted up.

We look for joy always in all of the created things; we crave it.

Joy seems so fleeting in today's world. Some spend a lifetime searching for it.  But joy cannot be found in the temporary. What if I told you finding lasting Joy is easier than you think?

But all of these things, even these people, they are are fleeting, friends: here today, gone tomorrow.

Any joy based on these moments, on temporary possessions or circumstances, is destined to pass.

When that happens, we feel cheated somehow, don’t we?

We feel let down.  We may even wonder if something is wrong with us or question why the joy is gone.  Have you been there before? When the sunshine suddenly turns to rain, when laughter turns to pain?

I have.

I’ve walked through seasons where joy seemed scarce and even counting my blessings, though they are many, wasn’t enough to satisfy my soul.  I’ve found myself hungry for lasting joy, one not of this world.

joy, pain, suffering, sorrow

True joy, lasting joy, comes from one source and one source only – the Father God who created us purely for love’s sake.  His only Son took upon Himself the burden of the cross “for the joy set before him” so that we might have joy unspeakable.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

 Are you looking for it today, friend, the kind of joy that lasts through the hard times and back again, the kind that wells up from within, unstoppable?

Find joy in Jesus.

For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
Psalm 92:4
O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Psalm 95:1

Jen 🙂

It’s Five Minute Friday again, so I’m joining up with the lovely ladies over at Lisa Jo Baker’s place for a stress-free, five-minute, free-write on a one-word prompt.  Join us if you like!

 

Filed Under: Christianity Tagged With: Devotional Thought, discouragement, Encouragement, Five Minute Friday, how to find joy, Jesus, joy

Comments

  1. Sarah says

    March 21, 2014 at 12:02

    Amen! Such a perfect reminder of the true joy in Christ.

    Reply
    • stultsmamaof4 says

      March 24, 2014 at 21:14

      Thanks for stopping by, Sarah! Come again soon.
      Jen 🙂

      Reply
  2. Misty says

    March 25, 2014 at 21:36

    Hi, Jen! This is a wonderful reminder of where we need to find our joy.

    Reply
    • stultsmamaof4 says

      March 31, 2014 at 22:45

      Thanks for stopping by, Misty!
      Jen 🙂

      Reply
  3. Lisa notes... says

    March 26, 2014 at 12:14

    You’re so right that our only true and lasting joy is found in the Lord. Everything else is open to change, but he is our firm foundation that will always be there for us!

    Reply
    • stultsmamaof4 says

      March 31, 2014 at 22:45

      Amen, Lisa!
      Jen 🙂

      Reply
  4. Jenna says

    March 26, 2014 at 16:40

    I love this! And the image is so good. I want that kind of joy, deep within my soul! Thank you so much for the reminder to see that above it all 🙂 Glad to have come here from #TellHisStory. ~Jenna // A Mama Collective

    Reply
    • stultsmamaof4 says

      March 31, 2014 at 22:46

      I want it, too, Jenna! I want the kind of joy that lasts, even through the rough spots. Thanks for stopping by.
      Jen 🙂

      Reply
  5. WholeHearted Home Judith Kowles says

    April 1, 2014 at 15:39

    Jen, these are really good thoughts on Joy. It makes me think of a song we sung when I was a child.

    Reply
    • stultsmamaof4 says

      April 3, 2014 at 13:54

      Thanks, Judith!
      Jen 🙂

      Reply
  6. Leah Adams (@PointMinistries) says

    October 21, 2014 at 04:40

    Yes, yes…true joy only comes from Jesus. It is lasting stuff, the make-it-through-the worst-day-ever stuff. Great potluck post at The Loft today, Jen.

    Reply
  7. Blue-and-Green-Together says

    October 21, 2014 at 21:42

    I loved the post you referenced in this post…”like a proud big brother”. What a great way to look at that. I need to be reminded of this all the time.

    Reply
  8. Kimberly Nyborg says

    October 23, 2014 at 10:18

    Oh yes Miss Kathy! The Joy unthinkable is not limited to the immediate world around us and once we find it is ours to keep. We will never want to be without it and thankfully when it seems to flee from us we will hunt it down because we know it isn’t about anything WE can do to attain it!

    Thanks so much for the reminder!

    Reply
  9. Kathy Schwanke says

    October 23, 2014 at 14:15

    I was just reading Weight of Glory by CS Lewis, and it is written well that we land short if we seek our joy in anything less. Something that we need constantly to remind ourselves of.

    “We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God
    knows, even that is bounty enough. We
    want something else which can hardly be
    put into words—to be united with the
    beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it
    into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become
    part of it. . . .—that,
    though we cannot, yet these projections
    can, enjoy in themselves that beauty grace,
    and power of which Nature is the image.” ~CS Lewis

    I don’t want only part. I want Him all! 🙂
    Great post Jen

    Reply
  10. Sheila says

    October 23, 2014 at 14:40

    Great reminder, and so uplifting to remember that joy is in the person of Christ! It will never end! Thanks, Jen!

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Jen: a work in progress. I'm imperfect - a mom of four, pastor's wife, discipler, and sinner saved only by grace. I like to sing, read, write, teach, and smile. I have a heart for encouraging women everywhere to understand God's limitless love for them and what His grace means for everyday living. Welcome! :) Read More…

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