On finding Joy

This is what happens in your brain when you feel happy-- 

Endorphins wake up. These are the body's "happy juice" that are released when you experience moments of happiness. They are responsible for fighting those yucky feelings of stress, sadness and pain by blocking those areas of our life. 

This evidently, is ​scientific fact, my friends. 

These wonderful, magical endorphins go zooming through your bodies, like Superman in flight, working to lower blood pressure and leaving us feeling more relaxed.

Photo by Preslie Hirsch on Unsplash

So, that's what science says.
My question is... where is the big red button that makes these feel-good mighty hormones when you need them? Can I get an amen? 

Once again, I asked a question...

I'd come across a journal prompt for starting the new year. The question asked, "How Do You Want To Feel In 2020?"

I wrote these words--> 

Accomplished
Joyful
Healthier
Generous

Then I had the audacity to ask, "What does it mean to feel... Accomplished? Joyful? -- That's as far as I've gotten so far.  I've already shared my revelations about feeling accomplished. You can read that blog HERE. 

Photo by Lidya Nada on Unsplash

Joyful defined

​Joy (noun) - a feeling of great pleasure or happiness. 

In my browsing on the topic of joy, someone asked, "Why is Joy so important?"

The answer Mr. Google gave was that it promotes a healthy lifestyle. It helps to combat stress, boosts your immune system, and protects your heart. That makes sense, right? 

I still kept wondering, how can you maintain being joyful? I mean, the world is a mess, right? Problems come and go. Life is just hard. People on television and in our own personal lives are bickering, disagreeing, demanding and causing all sorts of ruckus. 

Geeze, what's a girl to do? 

I can be a happy-go-lucky person. Most of the time. Give or take. 

But Joy....
I know it's something deeper. Happiness is an emotional state of well-being. It can be like a roller-coaster and its effects are temporary, at best. They also usually depend on the state of our world. We're not very happy at all when our car breaks down, during rush hour, in a lightening storm.

I'm never happy when that happens. 

But joy... oh, joy is something so much deeper. It's not pushed by circumstances. It's not dependent on how our day is going. If it's sunny or snowing. No, it bubbled up from deep inside.

It's an attitude 
It's a belief
It comes from the heart
It's not based on something good happening in our lives
​It comes from our outlook on life

You see, Joyfulness requires an acceptance of life, as it is, in the present.  The sunny fun days and the yucky stormy ones, too. Joy is an internal lasting emotional condition - despite life's circumstances.

Happiness is a fickle pickle. It can hang around for weeks like you're BFFs. Then one day, it's long gone like your check after paying bills. 

Joy is constant. 

So, how do we keep joy close and not depend on happiness to dictate our lives? 

I'm glad you asked. Even if you didn't, I discovered an answer.
​Keep reading to find out what it is. 

The Bible has a lot to say about Joy. And it's here that I found the best advice on how to maintain one's joy. It comes from the quiet confidence in a great God who works for our good, even if we can't see the way immediately.

It's our strength when life is hard. (Neh 8:10)

It's faith in where we are going and knowing that so long as we follow the Lord's direction, we will be okay. (Psalm 16:11)

It comes from the promises found in the Bible that we can stand upon, cling to, when the storms come. (Jeremiah 15:16)

It's knowing that you are part of the Kingdom and aren't having to do life alone. (Matt. 13:44)

Joy is something that grows from the seeds that God plants in our hearts. We can make them grow on our own. However, we need to be in partnership with Him to see those seeds bloom and produce fruit.  


How?
By praying and asking the Lord to cultivate our hearts so joy can grow and thrive in our lives. It's reading and knowing the Word so we can draw on His promises. 

This means I need to not be hard-hearted. It means I need to not be shallow-minded. And it means I can't allow the weeds of anxiety and fear to grow and take over my spirit. 

​And that is how I can live a life of Joy.