But the fruit of the Spirit is joy. Galatians 5:22-23
As the children’s song goes: “I’ve got that joy joy joy joy down in my heart. Where?! Down in my heart…” I wish it were true across the board. I wish it were true in a small percentage of Christians (in the West), myself included.
What went wrong? What is causing our joy, our zest for life and happiness and God to fade away? Where did it go? How did we let it slip away? More importantly, how can we get it back?
Obviously this is a complex problem with no easy answers. The Bible speaks about the worries and cares of life. Materialism. Discontentment. Envy. Pride. And something I call “sin-creep” (questionable actions and tendencies slowly but steadily creeping into our lives). Over-entertaining ourselves. And they’re all true.
We need to get back on the joy track. We know where it is. We knew what it was like at one time. Perhaps we should adopt a “joy-flood” mindset (letting joy flood into our lives). What would THAT look like? How would THAT change the way others look at us? How would THAT change us?
With a devotional such as this, some are looking for practical solutions. One comes to mind that is easy, very easy. Embarrassingly easy.
It’s not the be all to end all, but if we did this 10 or 20 times more a day than we did now and our lives would be transformed! Those around us might appreciate it too.