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Choose joy: Step 1 of 5 to help you experience joy in any circumstance
Recently, I was talking to a friend and it was as though she could sense a spirit of negativity. She told me that I had to be more positive. That statement made me angry because she couldn’t understand everything that I have been going through recently. I’ve had to deal with a lot both at work and at home. The things she said led me to look into what it takes to experience lasting joy. It may be hard to believe but you can experience joy in the midst of any situation. I’d like to share with you 5 steps that can help you to experience joy in any circumstance. If you are reading this and are experiencing difficulties, I’d like to encourage you to also read about the 5 keys to victory in trials.
I am a social worker and recently I have had to deal with a lot of depressing situations with clients at work. My job is great, the place I work is great but it can drain the life out of me sometimes. I have been wiped out mentally and it is leading to fatigue. That’s why I believe this post is as much for me as it is for you. I pray that this post helps you as you work to experience (choose) joy in any situation.
5 Steps to Experience Joy in Any Circumstance
1. Put your Faith in God
First and foremost, joy comes from God alone. Unlike happiness, joy is more than a feeling. Psalm 94:19 says “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul”. Proverbs 10:28 says that the “prospect of the righteous is joy”. Isaiah 35:10 says that a crown of “everlasting joy” will be on the heads of those the Lord has rescued. If you believe in God and put your trust in him, a spirit of joy is bound to follow.
2. Choose Joy
David was going through a lot of emotional upheaval and in Psalm 43:5 he asks himself a question “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?”. We then see a pivotal turning point happen. David makes a choice that even though he is feeling sad, he will choose joy. He follows the question with a statement: “I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again–my savior and my God!” This verse shows us that joy is a choice and like David, we can choose joy in any circumstance.
3. Strive to Rewire Your Brain to see Joy First
I was challenged by the same friend who told me I needed to be more positive to think of at least one positive thought for every negative one. This is not easy for me because I have a tendency to focus on the negative (especially since that is mostly all that I am around). I tried my best to think of at least one to two positive things for each negative thing and I have to admit, I could notice an improvement in my mood when I would do this. I challenge you to do this. If it doesn’t work, you have nothing to lose but if it does you will feel so much better!
4. Meditate on the Word of God
This kind of goes along with rewiring your brain to see the positive instead of the negative. Meditate on the word of God. I know, the Bible has some negative consequences of sin inside of it but there are also plenty of encouraging verses. I posted once about 8 promises for hard days so if you need some encouraging scriptures to meditate on, check out that post here.
5. Ask God to Help You Experience Joy in any Circumstance
You haven't done this before.
Ask, using my name, and you will receive
and have abundant joy.
John 16:24 (Source)
Life will be difficult at times (sometimes, more than others). In spite of the difficulties that we face, we can still experience joy. It won’t be easy but if we work to focus on the positive we can see how God is using the difficulties in our lives for good (Romans 8:28). Ask God to help you choose joy in the midst of the trials. God is faithful and if you ask him to do this, he will do it.
Mind if I take a moment to pray for you?
Prayer
God, thank you for the person reading this post right now. I pray that you would help them as they seek you and work to choose joy in the midst of difficulties. I pray that you would help them to remember that you are greater than anything that they are facing. Please wrap them in your loving arms, uplift and encourage them. Give them peace and joy in any circumstance. Thank you so much for all that you are doing in this person’s life, and all that you will do in the future. I ask all of this in Jesus’ name,
Amen
Still struggling with the idea of choosing joy no matter what the circumstance? Here are 3 truths to help you choose joy today.
You are so right about retraining our positive and negative thoughts. As a teacher (now retired) we were trained to share at least 2 positive comments about our students with their parents, to one problem. So a call home could be for a negative reason, but we would share at least two positive comments as well, so parents would realize that their child’s teacher saw both the good things, as well as the problem issues in their child. We need to see the same in ourselves! God bless you –
Wow I think that’s wonderful for teachers to do that. You’re right, it’s important for us to see positive things in others but equally as important we recognize the good things in ourselves and our situations as well. God bless you also!
Miranda; This is wonderful. My best friend just passed so your quote was so important to me at this time. As an educator I also used the method mentioned by Janene Eldred. It is often more difficult to be positive for yourself than others.
I’m so sorry to hear about the passing of your friend. Praying God sends his peace and comfort to you during this difficult time.
The ideas you’ve shared are so important – even someone who has a strong desire to be optimistic can find it difficult to be genuinely positive in the face of real tragedies and challenges.
Scripture has been my go-to defense. You’re so right when you say, “there are also plenty of encouraging verses.” in addition to God’s strong words of caution!
The other thing I do to get a grasp when negativity starts to well up is to focus on all the ways I’m thankful. Thankfulness grows optimism, in my opinion.
I couldn’t agree more with your statement “thankfulness grows optimism”. I am learning that more and more every day. Lately, I’ve begun to keep a list of positive things as I see them occurring. It really helps to get you out of the pit so to speak.
You are so right! What an awesome post! God has had me learning to retrain my thoughts also. Thank you for sharing your heart and what you have learned. You are so precious! ❤
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts on this post. Praying for you as you strive to focus on the positive. God bless!
It’s difficult but it can be done. We really have to train our mind every single minute to listen to what God says. 🙂
This is a great post and a good reminder to be intentionally positive. I have worked closely with many social workers and know that this is especially important in your field, but also can provide a great opportunity to show your coworkers the hope we have in the Lord.
Our post for this week on the Belovedlove blog is also about negative thoughts, what a coincidence! But Lydia’s post is about turning them around through prayer. I think both approaches are important to know about! http://belovedlove.org/reflections/2019/04/09/complaint-and-contentment-from-bitter-to-better/
Terrific points you’ve made here! Learning to trust in God and also to make it a practice to find joy in every situation has been my goal over the last year! I’ve been through a lot with my health but I keep coming back to the fact that it can always get worse and God has blessed me abundantly if only I’ll open my eyes to see it!
Striving to change your focus toward joy is a wonderful goal. I am praying for you that God will heal you mentally, physically, emotionally in any way that you need. By his stripes, we are healed! (Isaiah 53:5). If you ever need to talk to someone who understands chronic illness feel free to reach out via email. God bless!
Thanks for the encouragement and excellent tips. It is something we have to put into practise and form a good habit, otherwise we can easily default into our more natural position of allowing ourselves to be dictated by the circumstances. BTW I remember that old Integrity Hosanna album that you’ve posted here, although they switched out the worship leader for an English guy instead, but everything else was the same. I think this version is better.
Miranda, I am a registered clinical counsellor and so I can easily relate to how hard our work can be in terms of witnessing so much hardship, betrayal, hurt, brokenness etc. It can be hard to be positive when I have entered the hard spaces of people’s lives every day. Plus, there are challenges and hardships we experience in our own lives. But your suggestions for how to remain positive are good reminders that even when things are challenging, we can rest in God and his Word and use some strategies to change how we think, which all have the power to help us remain grateful and positive.