In Romans 15:13-14(NLT), the Apostle Paul prayed, “13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” We all should make this prayer a daily practice, because many of us are forgetting that God is our Source of hope, and that through Jesus Christ, He has filled us to overflowing with His joy and peace. God is not unhappy. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. There isn’t anything He doesn’t know, and there isn’t anything He cannot do. He is very happy within Himself, and He has empowered us through Jesus Christ to share in His delight.
Without question, there’s a lot going on in our world, and much of it is chaotic, destructive, and sad. People are choosing to be pessimistic and negative because they don’t feel they have another option. God’s Word makes it very clear that we do have another option, and it can lift our lives to levels of joy and goodness we never imagined. It’s not about us and our ability. It’s about God and His unlimited ability. It’s about having access to His extraordinarily abundant resources. Romans 8:32(NIV)says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Nothing and no one can compare to God’s giving. He’s generous, and He is delighted to share His riches with us, His children.
Surround yourself with encouragers
The joy that God gives us, the world can’t take it away, but many of us are forgetting the path to it. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that death and life are in the power of the tongue. This is a reality-check for us that the words that come out of our mouths have power. They can be lethal and cut dreams to shreds, or they can be encouraging and full of light, spreading the joy and confidence of the Lord. We decide what we’re going to say, and we also decide the kind of people that we let into our circles that have an influence on what we say.
Some of us are surrounding ourselves with people who speak death. In other words, they speak the opposite of what God says in His Word. Their words are negative and hardly ever uplifting. Contrary to what we may think, they do not want the best for us. How can they? They do not want the best for themselves, or else they would be speaking words that edify and represent the light of Christ. All of us probably have people in our lives like this, and we are not to be unkind, but we must draw a line of separation. We must give ourselves the gift of hearing words of those that encourage us in the Word, because these are the individuals that genuinely want to see us grow in faith.
Renew your mind continually
We have a responsibility to preserve our joy, and some of our insecurities and fears make this very challenging. Fear is the opposite of faith. It is rooted in doubt and unbelief regarding the goodness of God and the promises of His Word. Romans12:2(NLT) tells us, “2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” This isn’t a suggestion; it’s a commandment from our Heavenly Father. He created us and He tells us exactly what we must do to preserve a joyful spirit and a happy heart.
In Ephesians 4:23(NKJV), again, God tells us to be “be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” This means that we are to train the way we think so that our thoughts line up with the mind of Christ. Some of our fears are hidden, but some are not. We’re aware of them but haven’t renewed our minds to God’s Word and therefore, we haven’t changed the way we think. We can’t copy the behaviors and culture of the world. We can’t allow our minds to be inundated with negativity from the media and outside influences. Some of that stuff is very toxic to our souls, and when it sinks into our hearts, it interrupts our joy. We can make different choices about what we allow our ears to hear and our eyes to see, and we should do this because it’s the kindest gesture we can make toward ourselves.
Lean on the Spirit
1John 4:18 tells us that there is no fear in love. There is no darkness in love. There is no negativity in love. There is no pettiness, impatience, selfishness, or betrayal in love. Full-grown mature love is the love of Christ, and it demolishes every trace of fear. And in case we didn’t know, this verse tells us that fear brings thoughts of punishment. It keeps us in the land of what ifs in the most harmful way. The love of Christ breaks those chains, but it takes training and courage to remain in the higher ground of those breakthroughs.
To fully embrace the joy that God has given us, we need the Holy Spirit’s help. The psalmist, King David, prayed in Psalm 51:10(NLT), “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.” David understood that inside is where the real actions takes place. It’s in our hearts and minds that the treasures of life and wholeness are housed. Our greatest triumphs and work are within our own souls. It just makes sense that God has deposited the extraordinary gift of Holy Spirit on the inside of every born-again believer, because inside is where we need the greatest help.
Proverbs 3:5 tells us not lean on our own understanding, because our own understanding can get us into serious trouble. We are to trust in God with all our hearts and to lean on Him. Through His Spirit, He will lead and guide us so that we remain firmly planted on love’s path. Romans 14:17(NLT) tells us, “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Living a life of goodness, peace, and joy is God’s Will for our lives, and we must trust and believe that it is very possible to live that way. Institutions, organizations, and even relationships may disappoint us, but Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. If we will have faith in God and lean on His Holy Spirit, we will not be disappointed. Our joy will be continually renewed as we think, confess, and surround ourselves with the goodness of God.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“Surround Yourself with Joy”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.