Life is hard, but God is good. The ability to choose each day to love God, give thanks, and feel the joy in our hearts is available to us. But it does require a little practice. Embrace this 3-day plan to cultivate a truly happy heart through joy in Jesus!
Rachel Wojo
Day 1
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:1-9
Happiness and joy are two peas in a pod. And yet they aren’t. Being happy is experiencing the emotion of happiness but being joyful—it’smore than an emotion.
Joy is both a noun and a verb. It means to experience delight from a source or to display glad feelings. It is more than a “doing” or action verb. It is “being.”
In other words, joy surfaces when you possess joy, when it is part of who you are. And if you know Jesus, you know joy. The question then becomes: How well do you know Jesus and how well do you experience the joy that comes from Him?
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
Life is hard, but God is good. The ability to choose each day to love God, give thanks, and feel the joy in our hearts as He lives in us is available. But it does require a little practice. We have opportunities each day to choose to be joyful. I’ve discovered that a joyful heart often begins with giving thanks.
To see God in the midst of suffering is challenging for us as humans. But the glorious thing about our God—we don’t have to physically see Him to believe in Him. Faith brings the ultimate joy our hearts crave through a restored relationship with God. It is more precious than gold!
We can expectantly be joyful because our God is good and makes all things good. Whatever He does will be beautiful and wonderful because of who He is! When our circumstances make it difficult to see God’s work with human eyes, we can still rejoice for the living hope Christ has given us through the power of His resurrection.
If you’re struggling to see God in your situation today, that doesn’t mean He is not working. It means your vision is limited because of your humanity. This is where faith ushers in joy.
PERSONAL PRAYER PROMPT:
Jesus, open my eyes to see your glory right where I am now.
Thanks for joining me today. See you tomorrow for Day 2!
Day 2
Scripture: Nehemiah 8:5-10
Have you started to look ahead and felt like you wouldn’t make it? You’re not alone!
In today’s Bible passage, God’s people felt the same way. As they looked ahead at the expected demands, they were overcome with the holiness of God’s Word and their own human limitations. As they heard God’s laws read and explained, conviction overwhelmed their hearts. They grieved and mourned. Although the Bible doesn’t say exactly why they were filled with sorrow, we can guess that their grief stemmed from either their past shortcomings, their present state, or the potential overwhelm of the future.
Nehemiah’s word to them is a word for us today. The joy of the Lord was their strength, and it’s ours today as well. The joy of knowing God intimately fuels our hearts, souls, and minds. Knowing His Word and how it works in and through us to provide the strength we need is vital!
Do you need more strength in your life? You’re doing the right thing! Spending time with God in His word and listening to the message He longs to speak to your heart will both energize and encourage you. His promises fuel joy.
PERSONAL PRAYER PROMPT:
Lord, usher in the joy of your promises and infuse me with strength, even when life is hard.
Thanks for joining me today; see you for Day 3 tomorrow!
Day 3
Scripture: Romans 15:7-13
Challenging circumstances can make life hard. Discouragement, depression, and doubt creep in and threaten to steal our joy. The enemy uses them to try to make us think that we have no hope. But our God is the God of hope. The name of hope? Jesus. He came to reveal the truth of God because He is the truth. We can believe God’s promises because He has kept every one of them.
By believing God is our Promise Maker and Promise Keeper, we are filled with joy and peace! Paul’s words to the Christians in Rome are affirming to us today. His reference to the praise records of the prophets (v. 9, 10, 11, and 12) reminds us who God is and what He has done in our lives.
But how does this remembering process begin? By the power of the Holy Spirit.
Are you lacking in the joy department? Maybe you are wondering if God is good when life is hard. The Holy Spirit ushers joy into our hearts because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The same power that lives in Jesus lives in us today. Replace the “you” with “me” and “I” in verse 13 and make this verse your prayer at this moment.
PERSONAL PRAYER PROMPT:
God of hope, fill me with all joy and peace as I trust in you so that I may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
