I find joy impossible on some days, especially on those “when-it-rains-it-pours” seasons.
Life was already much to handle, then 2020 went off-script.
Have you been easily robbed of joy lately? Scary diagnosis. Transitions. Lockdowns. Cancelled flights. Loneliness. Grieving loss. Divisions among believers about preachers, politics, covid, or vaccine… in a time we could just stick to the Gospel.
One morning I reached for my traditional breakfast while in the States, English muffins. I typically don’t study the package, nor the brand name. I simply check carbs at the back for my daughter’s sake. Today my eyes caught a catchy tag line though “Wake up to what’s possible”.
Wake up to what’s possible.
I like the sound of that in a season where we’re told what’s not possible.
Waking up to English muffins every day would be a stretch in Romania. But, one thing we can count on daily is waking up to the possibility of joy.
I am currently reading C. S. Lewis’ book Surprised By Joy. He says that we need to distinguish happiness, pleasures and joy. They have one thing in common, you want to experience it again. The difference is that joy is not in our power, while pleasure is.
A scoop of ice cream, a good movie, a warm hug, a new outfit- that we can take care of on our own. Try James’ kind-of joy “pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds”… not enough gelato in the world.
Since joy won’t come as naturally as sadness, fear, anxiety, bitterness, or anger does, we ought to fight for our right to joy. We live on enemy territory. The Bible wasn’t kidding when it said “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6: 12 NIV
Get surprised by JOY with these Biblical steps from Ephesians:
Bible Getaway | “the belt of truth”, “sword of the Spirit”
My youngest knows I love reading different Bible translations on www.biblegateway.com . One day she asked “Mommy, are you reading right now from Bible Getaway?” I love that.
We need daily Bible Getaways. Daily, not 3- 4 times a week (no skip counting like in math class). Daily. Let’s get fascinated by the richness of God’s Word. Devotional books are great at creating consistency, but it’s like eating someone else’s chewed gum. Read for breadth (from Genesis to Revelation), read for depth (check maps, commentaries, original language- www.biblehub.com is a great resource). Rake the Biblical garden from one end to the other to understand its magnificent landscape, but dig deeper and deeper, as well to discover unique treasures meant for you today.
November and December were a bit rough for our family as we mostly spent our time in hospitals dividing (somewhat fairly) appointments, investigations, and procedures among my husband, our diabetic daughter and I (in that order). We all read our Bibles on the go. Gleaned from verses here and there among disruptions. The less deep I went, the less consistent my kids were… I noticed a rapid decay in our attitudes: teenage defiance on the kids’ side, and stolen joy with a shorter fuse on mine.
As God pinpointed me to the thief of our godliness, we made drastic changes to get back to our first love, our first priority, our first-thing-of-the-day… reading the Bible for breadth and depth.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8 NIV
I like the sound of that too. I want to be prosperous, and successful. And encountering joy is my definition for a prosperous and successful day. When I’ve got joy, my voice is gentle, my instructions are clear, my worries prayed away, my creative mind is at its best, my disruptions and pain put into godly perspective.
Allow God to surprise you with joy through daily Bible Getaways.