How to Choose Joy in Three Ways

Truth time: This season I'm in right now... is a lot harder than I thought (and I'm not talking about quarantine).

Has life ever thrown something your way that catches you off guard completely? You have about a million other problems you should be dealing with and this one is just the tip of the iceberg. Completely unexpected (and unauthorized, too). You're thinking this isn't how it's supposed to be or this wasn't my plan.

Yeah, I feel you.

And I know my problems are trivial in the grand scheme of everything that's going on in the world, but to me they're real and they're valid and they need to be dealt with. But how? Life didn't prepare me for this. I wasn't expecting this kind of hurt so I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to get through this.

Wait... let me start over.

Truth time: This season I'm in right now... is just a season.

However you choose to fight your battles, know that they will (eventually) pass. Though it's discouraging and seemingly impossible to overcome in this moment, this will not last forever.

Both good and bad seasons come and go and it's hard to know when or why. One thing I do know, however, is that good things still happen in hard times. I'm not sure what this will look like for you but, for me, I've seen it as additional love and support from my family and friends and the opportunity to grow in ways I never would have without trial and tribulation. If we want to see the type of good that only a difficult season can bring, we have to be willing to fully embrace this season with open arms. We cannot wish it away or do everything we can to make it to the next season as soon as possible -- you are here for a reason.

 Don't base your happiness on what is going on around you or you'll find your happiness to be inconsistent. Though you may not be able to control your circumstances, that doesn't mean your circumstances have to control you. And there might now be a million and one problems out of our control, but we always have control over how we respond. It might not be our immediate response and it might not be the easiest choice but we can always choose joy.

In making this choice, there are three things I remind myself that never fail to help me find joy in my hard seasons. (An ode to undoubtedly the best rom-com of all time, I like to refer to this code as "How to Choose Joy in Three Ways"):

1. Choose people who choose you. I find joy in the people whose love for me is not dependent on my circumstances; who aren't intimidated by my mess and will walk beside me no matter what life may throw my way without warning.

2. Gratitude produces contentment and contentment produces joy. I find joy in counting my blessings. I count and recount all of the good things I have to be thankful for so far. In doing so, I am reminded that I have more than enough reasons to be happy right here and now, regardless of what's going on around me.

Finally (and probably most importantly), it's easier to find joy in every season when our joy is not based on something circumstantial but rather in something certain -- like a promise. Check out what God promises us in Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 30:5, Romans 8:28, 1 Peter 5:7, and Philippians 4:13. Though I am more apt to breaking promises than God is, I can confidently say that investing in these truths will make your hard times a whole lot easier.

Over and over again, this is how I find the strength to make it through unexpected and difficult seasons. When life is so ungracious to us, it can be too easy to develop a joyless mindset, but I truly believe that our happiness is dependent on the way we respond. The choice is yours.

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." -- Nehemiah 8:10