Building Joy!

by Darlene Cook, Door of Hope U.S. Women’s Program Director

Darlene Cook, U.S. Women’s Program Director

In the busyness of life, we often do not make time for building joy. Darlene Cook, U.S. Women’s Director, takes a closer look at the meaning of ‘Joy’ and its impact on our lives.
What is joy?
Joy is the feeling you get when you know that “someone is glad to be with me.” This can be a friend or a family member. But we also know that when we turn our attention to the Lord, He always delights to be with us. Joy grows in connection and relationship. This is why it is so important that we have regular times of connection with God and with healthy, loving people.
How does joy compare with happiness?
Joy is an inner sense of well-being. Happiness is an outward expression based on circumstance. Joy endures hardships and connects to meaning, purpose, and identity. Happiness is fleeting.

Moments of Joy will increase your Joy Capacity. What are some ways to increase Joy?
• Spend time connecting with Jesus.
• Which activities help you to feel connected to Him the most? Make time for these things a priority. Think of things that refresh you and bring you new life and schedule these into your week.
• Get outside for a walk and notice the things around you. Try to focus on God as you enjoy His creation thank Him for this wonderful gift.
• It is also important to spend time in healthy, loving relationships where you feel safe to be yourself. Do fun things together, laugh, play games, and sometimes just enjoy being quiet.
What happens when your joy capacity increases?
Increasing your joy capacity will help you to walk through the hard things in life. When we experience joy, shalom increases. This is more than peace. Shalom is feeling contentment, completeness, wholeness, well-being, and harmony. Our ability to act like ourselves (our true identity) becomes our normal state of being, even in hard situations.

When we face challenges in life we often feel other emotions like; fear, anger, grief, disgust, shame, and hopeless despair. God designed our brains with these emotions in order to process what is going on in life. These emotions aren’t bad. The key is learning how to process them in a healthy way with help from Jesus, and to then return to JOY as quickly as possible.

What happens if we stay in these emotions too long? Fear can turn to chronic anxiety, anger can turn into rage or bitterness, grief can turn into serious depression, disgust can turn into judgment, healthy shame/ conviction can turn into feeling toxic shame, and hopeless despair becomes overwhelming rather than leading us to seek out some help. How do we turn to joy?

We look for bridges from the hard emotions back to joy. Notice what has helped you in the past. Some steps you could take:

1) Notice what you are feeling and try to determine why you are feeling that emotion.

2) Ask Jesus, “What do I need to return to joy?”
This might be seeking out relational connection with Jesus or healthy, safe people. Focusing on self-care and other fun activities that bring you joy like music, worship, getting outside, focusing on beauty, and more.

Maybe you can help be a bridge to help others return to joy? Try attuning to them: “I see you, I hear you, I care. I’m with you in this!” And remember;

The Joy of the Lord is your strength! Nehemiah 8:10

Our Living the Immanuel Lifestyle and Finding Rest support groups can help you on your journey to joy.