How to Be a Joyful Christian Now
To know how to be a joyful Christian, remember it’s a fruit of the Spirit. Except, the opposite—sorrowful misery—sometimes takes over. Joy and misery are distinctly different. Joy comes up and out of you when you’re connected to its source.
For that reason, as soon as my eyes open I search for God. My body heads in the opposite direction – away from God. It doesn’t want to rejoice.
Here’s an in-your-face alert.
You can eliminate feelings contrary to Christian joy. If you and I ease along based on our circumstances, sooner or later some situation we face takes our joy.
Without joy, faith and love will eventually take a turn toward doubt, hatred, and discouragement. For me, my downfall is putting too much emphasis on what people think. My emotions take over. Any emotion that takes the place of joy is a killjoy!
How to Be a Joyful Christian: Know the Christian Meaning of Joy
“Always be full of joy in the Lord, I say it again, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4) The Living Bible
That scripture says a mouthful but the joy of the Lord isn’t the same as natural joy. When the Lord provides your joy, you have strength like Nehemiah did (the joy of the Lord is your strength – Nehemiah 8:10). His huge task was to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem. He faced opposition and stayed committed to the project.
Once the walls were built, people went back home. When they returned, they asked Ezra, their religious leader, to read the law God gave to Moses. As they heard God’s Word read, they wept. Ezra told them to not weep but to prepare a festive meal and give presents to others. Their dejection and sadness turned into a joyful celebration. In the end, the whole nation re-committed their lives to the Lord. The Word of God got inside them so they couldn’t help but be joyful.
How to Be a Joyful Christian: The Characteristics
When you learn how to have a joyful spirit, you take action when you’re sad. Run from its negative effects. In addition to staying filled up with scripture, get off your backside. Start praising and worshipping God and watch how quickly your joy returns— stronger than before. Have you noticed that the Holy Spirit who lives within you produces deep-down joy? He works joy into you so it lives inside you permanently.
These scriptures show you how to be a joyful Christian.
Psalm 94:19 – Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.
Psalm 47:1 – Come, everyone, and clap for joy! Shout triumphant praises to the Lord!
I Peter 1:8-9 – You love him even though you have never seen him; though not seeing him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with the inexpressible joy that comes from heaven itself. And your further reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
Romans 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Habakkuk 3:17-18 – Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
Because of salvation, Christians should be the happiest people on earth. But that’s not always so.
How to Be a Joyful Christian
Christian joy runs amuck when you stop thinking about God. You and I forget just how fortunate we are when we become His children.
Isaiah 61:10 – I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
It’s a happy day when you take Jesus as yours. In a split second, you’re promised a home in heaven for eternity away from unhappy times spent in a world that majors in despair. Jesus always has His hands open, offering us more.
He wants us to taste and see that He is good (Psalm 34:8). When Jesus is your all-in-all, you don’t reach for happiness—you reach for Him. Do that and you’ll find joy.
Then you’re better equipped to encounter mournful circumstances and hold onto your Christian joy. Did you catch the “AGAIN I say rejoice” in the scripture earlier in the post? That means to celebrate and exult repeatedly—over and over. Stay in God’s presence.
Stay fixed and resolute. Get your cues from the Holy Spirit when circumstances are beyond your ability to handle them.
King David learned the secret of how to have joy in the Lord. At times, extreme sadness overtook him due to family upheavals. His secret to living in abiding joy was to turn toward God. Christian joy requires that we purposely practice the virtue until it becomes a habit.
When the Lord controls your heart, there’s nothing else to do but be joyful. Before long you’ll see Him face to face when you step into heaven. Now, that’s joy unspeakable.