WHAT HAPPENED TO THE JOY IN MY LIFE?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Others, like seed sown on rocky places,
hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
(Mark 4:16)

MEDITATION:
The word “joy” is used almost 250 times in the Bible. “Joy” is
described as, “A feeling of great pleasure and happiness”. It is
synonymous with words like, “delight”, “bliss”, “exhilaration”,
“rejoicing”, etc. This sounds like something everyone should
embrace and cherish in their lives, right?

When we have “joy”, we can feel capable of dealing with just about
anything. However, when “joy” disappears in our lives, it can leave
a tremendous void. This void can be quickly replaced with things
like, “sadness”, “depression”, “stress”, “loneliness”, “despair”,
“anguish”, “hopelessness”, etc.

In desperation to regain the “joy” in our lives, we may try all kinds
of things available in this world. But worldly things only take us
farther away from the true joy we are seeking.

Remember the challenge you had to surrender your life to the Lord?
It could have been an emotional time when you realized you would
have to make a conscious choice to give Him control of your life. You
may have struggled many times with, “Should I do it today, or wait?”

This could have caused even more stress as your mind became
preoccupied with what you should do. It did not stop you from
interacting with others, but sometimes even in a crowd, you
couldn’t stop thinking about the choice you needed to make.

However, when you finally made the right choice, remember
how your stress was relieved and you felt an overwhelming
joy in your heart and soul?

Do you still have that joy today? Is anything robbing you of
your joy? Have you allowed the things of this world to change
your focus and steal your joy?
    But since they have no root, they last only a short time.
    When trouble or persecution comes because of the word,
    they quickly fall away. (Mark 4:17)

Maybe you have become a workaholic and it has caused you to
isolate yourself from enjoying the interaction with loved ones.
Perhaps you have struggled to cope with some tragedy in your
life. You may be in a constant struggle with some sin. Sickness
or sadness may have taken control of your life and your emotions.
The stresses of your job, or life in general, may have permeated
your inner self so deeply that joy seems far away and unreachable.

Our joy can be briefly lost by any number of things, but we can
regain the joy we experienced the day we received salvation, by
returning to the One who gave us our unmitigated joy originally.
We will not regain it through isolation, or chasing the things of
the world. They might produce brief periods of what appears to
be happiness, but we are soon back to where we were – depressed,
frustrated, anguished, stressed, lonely, etc.

ACTION:
Do you feel you have lost the joy of your salvation? Love is the
great equalizer of lost joy. Maybe you have never experienced
the joy from the Lord, and this devotional is your call to action.

Look at the advice from Jesus:
    “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.
      Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands,
      you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my
      Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have
      told you this so that my joy may be in you and that
      your joy may be complete.” (John 15:9-11)

Rather than allowing the world to make unfulfilled promises
to restore your joy, return to the One who has proven that
He can provide a joy the world cannot duplicate. Paul connects
joy with hope, patience and prayer.
    Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
    (Romans 12:12)

He also tells us that joy can be found
whenever the Holy Spirit is actively living in us.
    For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating
    and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and
    joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, restore in me the joy of my salvation.
Reestablish the joy of Jesus in me. Help me to turn from
the dead promises of the world and to remember Your
love and the joy that only You can provide. Give me the
determination and confidence to resist the temptations
from the evil one, so that I can keep Your commands
and remain in Your love. I long for real joy in my life
that comes from You, and not from my own ideas of how
to find happiness. Thank You Lord, for loving me when
I gave my life to You, and for continuing to love me every
day since I made my choice to surrender to You. Restore
my joy in the Holy Spirit.”

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