How to Have the Joy of the Lord—No Matter What You’re Facing
I jogged through the vernal forest this morning. The tiny leaves offered a partial canopy overhead—not the deep emerald of summer, but the just-born chartreuse leaflets of springtime. The experience washed over me like a reminder of how to have the joy of the Lord embedded in my heart.
Cold rain pattered on the forest floor and beaded on my forehead, and I considered the joy I find in a green forest on a rainy day.
I also started thinking about cultivating rhythms for joy in my life, and I was reminded of a blog post I wrote a few years ago.
After returning home, I found these words and reminded myself to keep applying them to my life. If you could use more joy, I pray these words bless you richly.
How to Have the Joy of the Lord
1. We cultivate joy by resting with God.
Nehemiah 8:10 reads, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”
I find it captivating that this verse doesn’t read, “The joy of the Lord is my joy.”
Throughout the past decade, I’ve asked God to help me apply these words to my life, and he has led me to a simple method of learning to find strength and joy in his presence. Every morning, I go to a quiet place and spend a few minutes looking out the window while imagining God’s arms around me and a beaming smile on his face.
I sometimes think of my children and the joy I find when they cuddle on my lap. I love being with them in these quiet moments of connection.
In the same way, God loves spending time with us. He smiles upon us when we set aside time to enjoy his presence. When we learn to rest in his loving embrace, his joy fills us with strength. His joy is also contagious. As he fills us with joy, we find the strength we need to face even the greatest obstacles in our days.
2. We cultivate joy when we stop trying to be perfect.
I’ve also learned that I find more joy when I don’t expect perfection in any area of my life. This includes releasing myself from the internal desire to perform perfectly, and it includes releasing others from these expectations, too.
A few months ago, I read Psalm 46:10 in the Hebrew translation from the Jewish Publication Society’s Bible. A more accurate translation of this familiar abjuration, “be still and know that I am God,” is, “let be and know that I am God.”
What do you need to let be in your life? What would it look like to stop pursuing perfection and settle for giving the best effort you can give at the moment?
3. We cultivate joy by taking ourselves less seriously.
One of the great lessons of my motherhood journey has been the importance of taking myself less seriously.
Instead of yelling over the messes or the plans that unravel in my home, I am learning to laugh.
I’m learning to hold my plans more loosely, and I’m failing as often as I’m finding victory, but I’m smiling about this too. I’m a work in progress.
Most of us could use more playfulness in our lives. We could stand to take ourselves less seriously. To laugh over the annoying habits of our loved ones instead of rehearsing speeches. (Read about the day my young daughter taught me what to say instead of speaking angry words here.)
4. We increase joy by learning to thank our bodies for their efforts.
Do you ever experience a loss of joy because you feel frustrated with your body? Maybe you deal with self-critical thoughts or are stuck in a cycle of emotional eating. You might be frustrated because your body can no longer function on minimal sleep or perform to the standards you expected from yourself when you were younger.
What if we stopped embracing critical thoughts about our bodies and asked God to help us see ourselves the way he sees us?
God calls our bodies beautiful, and he cherishes us.
Our bodies have served us well.
They have worked long hours, carried us over thousands of miles, and held us up under pressure. What if we were a little gentler with our bodies—offering more grace and less criticism—treating our bodies like our precious friends?
Maybe we’d learn about balance.
Perhaps we’d exercise more, or maybe we’d exercise less. Maybe we’d get in step with how God wants us to treat our bodies. Just maybe.
5. We expand our capacity for joy by prioritizing kindness over being right.
As I learn to cultivate joy, I am learning to lay down all defensiveness.
The greatest gift I can offer others is a gentle answer—a smile and a playful wave of the hand when making light of a situation is more beneficial than speaking a harsh word.
This kind of living frees me from striving and always brings greater peace and joy.
The greatest gift I can offer others is a gentle answer—a smile and a playful wave of the hand when making light of a situation is more beneficial than speaking a harsh word. #joy Click To Tweet6. We increase our capacity for joy by relinquishing our desires for power and control.
When I’m brutally honest about the times I lose my patience or come unglued in some other way, it’s usually because someone isn’t conforming to my ideas about how our day is supposed to go.
I snap because I want power and control.
Somebody asks me about screen time for the tenth time of the morning.
My quiet time is interrupted by a sibling squabble.
Someone spills an entire bowl of cereal and milk on a clean bedspread.
I snap not because of the accident, but because of the work I must now do to clean it, which is an interruption to what I was doing.
As I aim to cultivate deeper joy, I’m learning that a sense of losing control of my plans is always an invitation to practice keeping control of my emotions. I was never the One in control anyway. Every interruption is one more opportunity to return to the Lord in surrender.
A Free Devotional Book to Help You Learn How to Have the Joy of the Lord:
When I lack joy, a good devotional book often lifts my head. Hope for Hard Days is my free 10-day online devotional to help you hold onto hope when life is tough. You will find 10 readings to help you connect with God and claim his peace. Click here and I’ll send it to your email inbox today for free with promo code HOPE.
God is waiting to help you accomplish what you’ve been unable to do for yourself!
God wants to heal your heart, refresh your soul, and help you find freedom in every stuck area of your life! Let my new book, Lean Into Grace. show you how to experience God’s presence and power like never before. This book is free on the Kindle Unlimited plan and available to buy in print for 12.99. Find it here today!
Calling All Mothers and Daughters!
Lastly, in addition to writing to adults, I am passionate about ministering to the next generation.
Would you like to connect with your tween or teen daughter and help her grow closer to God? My 12-year-old daughter, Bekah, and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book just for you. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section.
Our vision is for girls ages 7-17 to enjoy it with their moms, grandmas, or older women they look up to. However, mothers and daughters of all ages are using this book to grow closer together! This book makes a wonderful gift for a mother or daughter you care about!
You can buy your paperback or eBook on Amazon right here.
