Source of Joy

Something I've noticed in the past few months - my attitude, based on feelings, can change quickly. I can feel happy and relaxed and connected...and then that's easily derailed by an off-hand comment or a perceived slight or an inconsiderate driver. I set off on this journey in January with high hopes and good intentions. And yet, here it is only the second day, and I began to wonder if it would really be possible to find joy each day.

Last night I read something that caused me to fret. I thought about it last night and again this morning. I put it away and refocused. I laughed and joked with Cindy and began feeling more upbeat again. Then something else careened in and brought me back into a less joy-filled state.

I thought about this and about my finding-joy journey. I knew that today would be spent at home, working and so forth. So I wondered where I would connect with joy today, where would I find joy if my mind kept focusing on other things.

Then I read in my devotional materials: "You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to 'go out' in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next." (Oswald Chambers)

I was hit between the eyes. (He often hits me there so I'll pay attention.) Joy isn't something I encounter or manufacture. Joy is in God. (I know this but God has to reteach me all the time.) If God is present, joy is present. I don't look for something to give me joy or help me achieve joy; I look to Someone for that.

I kept reading, this time in Psalms 107. I found these verses already highlighted for me: "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a murmur, and the waves of the sea were hushed. They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet. Then He guided them to the harbor they longed for." (Psalm 107:28-30)

We call to God. He stills the storm (around us or in us). We rejoice! He guides us to our destination.

Today's Joy: Not in circumstances but in the one who holds those circumstances.