Tag: Joy

A Prayer for Durable Joy – Your Daily Prayer – June 25

A Prayer for Durable Joy
By Ashley Moore

“Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.” – 2 Corinthians 6:10 NLT

Joy is a radical concept in the Bible. Difficult circumstances accompany many verses about joy. The Bible tells us to rejoice when we suffer (Romans 5:3) And to consider it joy when we face trials (James 1:2). The Bible says to be glad when we are persecuted because we will be rewarded in heaven (Matthew 5:12). And to greatly rejoice when we experience bouts of grief (1 Peter 1:6). This concept confuses most of us because we equate joy with happiness. Happiness is a fleeting emotion completely dependent on our experience or circumstances. For example, I feel happy when it is my birthday, but then I don’t feel as happy the next day. Or I feel happy when I win a game, but when another player wins in the next round, my happiness is squelched.

But joy is not a feeling, and it is not fleeting. Joy is not dependent on favorable circumstances. If anything, the Scriptures insinuate the opposite. The more unpleasant our circumstances are, the greater the opportunity to experience joy. Joy, unlike our fleeting feelings, is durable. Joy persists despite hardship. Joy propels us to endure despite extreme difficulties. Joy is never-ending and ever-present. When Jesus endured the heinous suffering of the cross, He was empowered to do so because of joy.

“…because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” – Hebrews 12:2

Joy is durable because it is found in the presence of God, not in the absence of struggles.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” – Psalm 16:11

Today if you’re facing unfavorable circumstances, acknowledge and experience the durability of the joy made possible by Christ. I hope you understand that joy is always available in difficulties and despite hardships. Our hearts may ache, but we will always have joy because of our relationship with Christ (2 Corinthians 6:10).

Let’s pray:

Dear Lord,
I don’t know what my brother or sister in Christ listening or reading this message is experiencing right now, Lord. They may face the deepest heartache or the most ravenous trial or difficulty of their life. Lord, I don’t know the details, but you do. You see them struggling. And not only are you carefully watching over them, but you suffered just like them. You were despised. You were mocked. You were rejected. You were hated and spit upon. You were jeered at and insulted. You were beaten and shamed. You were stripped of your dignity. You suffered for our sake. You were wrongly punished for our shortcomings and sin, Lord. You deeply and compassionately understand my friend’s suffering. And you endured your suffering by thinking about the joy of being with us in heaven for all eternity, where there would be no more sadness and no more sin.

This joy was you thinking of perfected relationships with your children and between your children for all eternity. That is an unshakeable and sure source of joy. That is secure joy. That is durable joy, made available to us right now. The seal of Your Holy Spirit ensures that joy. God, thank you for suffering so we can be eternally joyful. Thank You that nothing can take our joy in this life or the next if we are in You, Jesus. Let my brother and sisters listening or reading along immediately notice and rejoice in this truth. Comfort them and care for them through this trial. Remind them of the gospel and bring others along to redirect their thoughts to this truth with love and grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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A Prayer for Continuous Joy
By Jessica Van Roekel

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23

I know what it’s like to feel joyless during dark gray days. Midwest winters blanket my world with snow and muted skies, and I can feel the joy seep out of me. I try to catch it, but it’s like trying to hold water in my bare hands. It seems like joy plays hide and seek and I cannot find it. I grow irritable, which doesn’t help me feel joyous. I think it will return when Spring comes, the barren ground turns green, and the sky transitions to brilliant blue, but joy is not dependent on the seasons.

We grow frustrated when we attempt to conjure joy in our strength. It feels fake and we develop an incorrect view of Biblical joy. God is full of joy and delights to share it with us, but how do we grow joy in our lives? How do we stop relying on ourselves and our circumstances to dictate its presence in our lives? I’m a failed gardener. I dreamed of having a beautiful flower bed, but the weeds won. Except for one plant—a pink yarrow. It grew profusely, spread beyond the flower bed and into the grass. Its soft, feathery leaves remind me it will grow no matter what I do to it. John 15:1-17 tells us that to bear fruit we must abide in Jesus. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and abiding in Jesus is the key to joy.

It’s easy to judge our lives based on what our physical eyes see and then feel disappointed when we don’t see what we want to see. But so much of the good God grows in our lives happens below the surface of what our eyes can see. It’s a change that occurs when we yield to the Holy Spirit and choose to stay attached to the vine. We can trust God’s process of transformation to bear fruit, including joy, even when life feels joyless. It’s in this place of abiding where we find the most complete joy we could ever know. We do not drift into spiritual maturity. We determine to cooperate with the power of God that is within us. Jesus asks us to obey, remain in him, and love. As we do these things, his joy becomes complete in us.

Life is full of trouble, agony, and sorrow, but it’s also filled with beauty, fun, and laughter. To live life with joy, we must cultivate its fruit in our lives by abiding in the Lord. It’s absorbing all our nutrients for spiritual growth from him and allowing him to prune us where we need pruning. We can practice joy by focusing on God’s heart for us. The Lord longs to grow, guide, and produce joy in us Choosing joy may be hard at first, but when we persist in it, we will see God turn what is bitter into sweet. You can be the brightest gift to those around you because of the joy that’s within you.

The Greek word for joy is chara. This means a strong inner sense of gladness that is not based on circumstances, but on the love, grace, blessings, promises, and nearness of God to those who belong to him through Jesus Christ. On long winter days when darkness pierces the day and my heart, I remember God. I remember how he loves me and how he is near me. I remember his grace and mercy. I remember he is kind, and he is my refuge and strength. This fills me with the kind of joy that anchors my heart and keeps me secure through the days of darkness.

Let’s pray:

Holy God,
Fill me with your joy today. Let me know the rooted, inner kind of gladness that comes from abiding in you. You keep me secure when my world crashes down. You shower me with undeserved grace when I fail. Your joy makes me complete. Let me rest in you and allow you to do your work in me so that joy grows as fruit in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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