It's been one thing after another. Difficult loss and illness. Difficulties with technology. A son who left earlier than expected. To say it's been a crummy summer would be an understatement. It's easy as Christians to say we should still have joy through every circumstance and that this, too, shall pass. However, when you've gone through one loss after another with no end in sight, it's hard to have joy and persevere despite difficult circumstances. We've all been through these trials and difficulties.
God promised that we would have trouble. He told us not to worry, for tomorrow has enough problems. But how do we persevere joyfully when life’s storms leave us physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained? How do we get out of bed each morning thanking God for everything that's happened even though we realize we may have more to deal with the next day?
Honestly, joy has been one of the more difficult gifts of the Spirit. As someone who tends to be negative and look at the wrong side of things, I often look at the negative side of life because it's easier than having hope. Look on the negative side of things and not have joy; if the worst happens, I don't have to be disappointed. If God calls us to have joy, though, we should consider it joy. We know that our faith develops perseverance when we persevere through every trial. Joy is more accessible than we think.
Here's how I learned to exude joy through challenging circumstances, even when it's easier said than done:
I want God to be my anchor. When I pray, I must trust that God's Word is truth. When I don’t cling to him, it's as if I'm rewriting the Bible. When God says that “his yoke is easy and his burden is light” and I choose to think that life is heavily burdensome (Matthew 11:28-30), it's like I'm telling God he's a liar. God never promised that life would be utterly free of suffering. He only promised to allow our yoke to be light if we came to him and rested. When I trust God as my anchor, I can cast all my cares upon him. It's easier to have hope and joy when the weight of this world becomes too much to bear by trusting in who God says he is.
When I choose to have joy, even when circumstances look bleak, it allows me to lighten my load. It allows me some emotional freedom because I've given my situation to the only one who can truly control it and turn things around. When I realized this, I felt joy knowing that God would always work out things according to his will and always have my best interest.
Although it's not recommended to compare your life to others on social media, I am constantly reminded when I scroll through my feed how much worse other people have things than I do. When I'm focusing on myself, it's easy for me to think everyone else has a good life except me. It's easier for me to get upset and believe the lie that God loves certain people more than me.
When I think God shows favoritism, I'm weighed down by the lie that God doesn't love me as much as he loves others. This is not true. It's not that I take joy in knowing other people's pain, but I do take joy in knowing that no matter how difficult my life is, there's always someone who's going through something worse. When I know someone who's going through something worse, it's my responsibility to use that opportunity to bless them instead of keeping the focus on myself. When I choose to bless someone even when my circumstances are challenging, God is glorified, and in that, I can have joy knowing that I was a blessing to someone even when my life dictated that I wouldn't be.
Joy is a tricky emotion to process and demonstrate. This is because we often confuse joy with a feeling. We confuse joy with happiness. Because I'm not always happy, I believe I can't exude joy. Yet joy is contentment in my current circumstances. I can encourage others even when my situation dictates that I shouldn't be promoted. This is when God is glorified the most. Not only this, but the world is also watching. When they see me reacting with joy in a circumstance that would dictate that I should be angry, grieving, or sad, people are drawn to me but also to Christ.
They want to know why I choose to react in that way. Joy doesn't always mean smiling, being happy, sticking my head in the sand, and not seeing my situation for what it is. Since I'm more of a realist than an optimist, those behaviors are something other than what I'm used to doing. But I can be content and know that God is in control of all circumstances, that he is the one who can turn it around, and that I can take joy and contentment in knowing that God is the God of all.
All the fruits of the Spirit are linked together. When I have love and I show love to others, I can exude joy, peace, gentleness, patience, etc. It isn't easy to have joy when I'm focusing on myself. Focusing on others helps me feel content knowing God is with me during this challenging season. God promised that we would never be alone. I can also take the time as I'm trying to exude joy to reflect on all the times God has worked through a situation.
I sometimes felt it was impossible for God to turn a certain circumstance around. Yet, I have many examples of times when God worked on my behalf and turned the situation around when I thought it would never happen. Because I have this testimony of times when I saw God at work, that allows me to exude joy knowing that God is the God of all my circumstances, even if they don't work out the way I want them to.
No matter how hard life gets, I must take solace in this not being my home. I'm just passing through on my way to heaven. My citizenship is in heaven, and I am God's child. That is a reality that no one can take away from me. I can take joy in knowing this is not the end, even when life is at its worst. This is merely a chapter in a much more incredible story.
When I seek to do my best, step out in obedience to follow what I feel God is calling me to do, and do it to the best of my ability even if it doesn't work out the way I believe it should, I can know that in heaven God will be happy with me that I took the time to be obedient to his calling. And in this, I can have great joy.
Joy is challenging, especially when times get tough. It's easy to focus on the selfish part of life and believe life will never improve. Additionally, if I base the success of my life upon accomplishments, popularity, or possessions, I'll never get to where I want to be because nothing will ever satisfy me like Christ.
The best goal in life is to glorify God and do things according to his will. Even when the world believes my life is unsuccessful, I can take joy in knowing that I serve a Savior who died and rose again for my sins. Because of his great sacrifice, I can live again.
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