Day 11: Refrain from Sorrow, Embrace Joy

Good Morning My Friends! So this morning’s message comes from my personal deep concern for others who are going through very difficult circumstances in life

Joy and Sorrow are a Team

While I believe and have previously written that joy and sorrow are a team in this world, I also believe we can and should intentionally choose joy each and every day.

We should not be unsympathetic to those who are suffering today, but God’s Word tells us that one of the fruits of the spirit is joy. Sadness did not make the list!

It’s so easy for us to get swallowed up in our sadness and sorrows. We forget we can choose joy.

We should choose joy to get us up out of the darkness of sadness and sorrow.

Let me tell you why.

When our soul is distressed lots of bad things can happen to us. Just like fear can ruin our wellbeing and being grateful lessens tons of things like anxiety, so can focusing on joy.

Recently I learned neuroscientists have discovered that even imaging laughter, not actually laughing, but imagining laughter reduces sadness. Read this:

In a powerful example of how mood can influence behavior, researchers at Bowling Green State University in Ohio found that women were able to feel joy and sorrow simply from imagining the physical act of laughing and crying. “Furthermore, imagined laughter was effective at reducing sadness, and, imagined crying reduced happiness,” says study author Nakia Gordon, MA. The study sheds light on how emotions are generated internally from within ourselves.

MRI brain scans lit up like a Christmas tree when thoughts of laughter entered the brain.

If laughter can have this positive effect on us, imagine what intentionally choosing joy will do for us.

Today I want us to choose joy. Embrace joy!

Choose Joy

Teilhard de Chardin noted, “Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.”

I want God’s presence in my life today. I want God’s presence in your life today.

So, let’s put on our joy today. Even if you personally don’t “feel” joyful, we know our brains and souls benefit from even imagined laughter, so I ask, imagine how your brain and soul will react if you feed them God’s Words of joy?

Let’s get started!

Practical Application

There are a few things you can do today to increase our attention to joy and increase our joy.

• Sing and Dance:  Play music that makes you sing joyfully and puts a little jitter bug in your step.
• Laugh:  Watch or listen to a program that makes you laugh. I especially like to watch Jim Gaffigan comedy.
• Spend time with someone who brightens your day: You know who those people are who make you smile. Call that person or go see them.
• Read Bible verses of joy:

I want you to read these verses of joy. Then choose one that really resonates with you. Write it out on paper, then post it where you will see it often today. Depending on what your day’s activities include that could mean your bathroom mirror, the refrigerator, your desk, your phone, your dashboard in your car, or your computer screen.

I want you to remember to choose joy.

Choose a joy verse:

• Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
• Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music. (Psalm 98:4)
• You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11)
• The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. (Psalm 28:7)
• Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. (Psalm 33:1)
• The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing. (Psalm 65:13)
• Shout for joy to God, all the earth! (Psalm 66:1)
• But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. (Psalm 68:3)
• My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I whom you have delivered. (Psalm 71:23)
• Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)
• For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. (Psalm 92:4)
• When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. (Psalm 94:19)

There are so many Bible verses on joy. You can read the Psalms to find more.

While we can’t eliminate all the sorrow in this world, we can intentionally choose to embrace joy every single day even in the midst of our difficult circumstances. I believe our difficult circumstances are lessened when we intentionally seek to live joyfully.

Just for Today

Refrain from Sorrow. Embrace Joy!