Joyfulness

“A joyful heart doeth good like a medicine.” Proverbs 17:22

           

But what happens when we wake up one morning and and we don’t have a joyful heart?! We don’t feel like smiling and we look like we are carrying the burden of the world on our shoulders.

Someone once said that “joy is one of those rare treasures that is multiplied by giving it away.: J So…would this mean that my smile is not on my face because I didn’t show it enough to friends and those that God brought in my way each day?! Maybe ;)

Andrew Murray wrote about joy that “is not a luxury or a mere accesorry in the christian life. It is the sign that we are really living in God’s wonderful love, and that love satisfies us.

In Hebrew the word for joy is simchah and it means “to brighten up, to make glad, to be merry”.

How can we experience joy in our lives? You know…the answer to all our questions and the solution to our problems, its all in God’s Word. So, let us read it!

1 Chronicles 16:8-11

⁸ Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; 
   make known among the nations what he has done. 
⁹ Sing to him, sing praise to him; 
   tell of all his wonderful acts. 
¹⁰ Glory in his holy name; 
   let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 
¹¹ Look to the LORD and his strength; 
   seek his face always.

Where should we start? Well..I would say we should start with giving thanks to God. Our first response to every situation should be to thank God, because doing so, it’s God’s will to every believer (1 Thessalonians 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”)

 

 

Second, we can call upon His name. Paul discovered that when he acknowledged His weakness, he became strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10 “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong”). The best way to express our weakness and dependence to God is to cry out to Him.

To “sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him”, its another way of experiencing joy in our life. David used to write songs to God, this was his practice and we were instructed to follow it: Ephesians 5:18-19 “…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.”

When we see the Lord doing mighty things in and thru us, it is a joy to tell about it to all those whom we meet.

 

Let us evaluate ourselves and see if we have a joyful heart!

J Don’t forget to have a joyful smile, too, expressing not only with your face, but also with your soul the joy of your spirit because of the work of God in your life.