How Can I Feel More Joy?
“Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.” Psalm 33:1
Is the cup half empty? Or half full? That is the question with which we often find ourselves wrestling. We do not ask it that way, of course. We just wonder whether to be happy with our blessings or frustrated about our problems. Given the two choices, the biblical answer is clear! Praise, not anxiety, is one of the hallmarks of those whose lives reflect God’s presence.
The reality is that life is usually never so flawless that we have no frustrations. But it is also rarely so bereft that we cannot identify some blessings. So we find ourselves having to choose our attitude and perspective. The difficulty is that we don't choose our feelings. They are just there. We feel sad. Or happy. Or anxious. Or excited. While we know that our feelings should not control us, it is certainly hard to ignore them.
How do we fill our lives with more praise than pessimism? There is probably no single answer, and perhaps the answer is not the same for everyone. What is important to understand is that the source of praise is different from the sources of happiness. Happiness varies depending on our circumstances. Joy has its foundation in God. To fill our lives with praise means to center more of our hearts on God.
Like happiness, I suspect that praise is a byproduct. It emerges from hearts that are turned toward God. That is what being righteous is. It is not being perfect but having a heart turned toward God. When we rightly align our lives with God, praise emerges on its own.
Remember the great promises found in Romans, chapter 8, beginning with verse 31. They give us reason for great joy.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”