Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV)
Joy is defined as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness”. It is a noun. It is also defined as “a source or cause of great happiness: something or someone gives joy to someone”. STOP. I want to pause right here because that is where we get stuck. “Something or someone gives joy to someone”. Who is the source of your joy? Because whoever is the source is the one you give the power to take it away.
God is the source of our joy. Stop giving power to situations and to people to steal your joy. Instead, give the power to God. Let His joy remain in you so that your joy may be full (John 15:11).
Here’s the challenge to help us own our joy and remain in His joy today:
- Set your phone alarm to remind you to pray four times today. That’s every 4 hours if you sleep for 8 hours of the day. In order for us to have strength to own our joy we need to remain in His joy. In order for us to remain in His joy, we need to pray. The alarm gives you a cue to remember that.
- Smile! I know, it’s not easy and you might feel a little goofy but trust me, it helps.
I would love to hear how your day went. Please post in the comments below if you were able to remain joyful today.