Joy Profile

 

    Joy comes from gratitude.  It is a practice driven by conviction and discipline.  Gratitude is essential for spiritual growth, creativity, and joy.  You channel your energy to what is present and working in life instead of what is absent or ineffective.  

    We all have areas where we can upgrade our attitude, but it starts with looking at where we are ingrates.  If you want true gratitude, then you need to be connected with God.  That means investing yourself in prayer and reading God's Word.  Being right with God is humbling as you see how much He does for you.  It opens your eyes to all that life has to offer.

    Another aspect of the joy profile is being able to be content in the silence.  Life bombards you with noise.  It is hard to find true silence, but it can make some people very uncomfortable.  Silence gives you the ability to hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit more clearly.  It removes distractions and can make things more clear.  Silence can be a gift.

    To find joy means spending little time in media and social media.  Binge watching, scrolling, and over-reading reminds you of the negatives, what-ifs, and all the things you wish you had that you don't.  Spending some time here will help you know how to pray for the world, but keep it short.  Don't loose hours in it.  You are very unlikely to find much wisdom in the media.

    Joy is given to the humble.  Entitlement can't find joy because they are too busy taking what they believe they deserve.  No one owes you anything.  God doesn't owe you anything.  He gave you life and all that you have.  Who are you to demand more?  Entitlement steals the joy of the gifts that God does give you.  The humble are grateful for all that they have and thrilled over the personalized gifts.

    Expect the best or that things will workout for the best sets you up for joy.  Doom and gloom negative thinking drives away joy and the people that would bring it to you.  Negative thinking leads to worry, anxiety, and gloom.  Positive thinking drives you to look for ways God is blessing you.  It pushes you to get outside of your comfort zone to find more joy.  You will either concentrate on the blessings or the worry.  You can't do both at the same time.  

    If you want joy don't always go searching for more.  Pray and focus on where you need to put your attention.  Then be content with what you know in other areas.  You will be exhausted and torn if you continuously try to go multiple directions.  Society flares discontent driving people to always feel like they need more.  Instead be content with your finances and learn to live within them.  Be grateful for your family.  God made you who you are and it is enough.  Your house is needs to be clean, but also looked lived in.  

    Last item on the joy profiles is that their is enough for everyone.  You do not have to rush to be the first or take more than what you need.  Be in the moment and take it all in.  Do nor allow fear to drive your life.  If you loose, take it as a win because you always have something to learn from it.  Set boundaries with yourself and other people to maintain your joy in life.  Organize your life so you can have continuous gratitude that leads to joy.

Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 16:9-11, Isaiah 61:10-11, Romans 14:14-19, 15:7-13, Galatians 5:11-23, Philippians 4:4-7, &  James 1:2-4