The moment that you come to Christ there should be that joy.
You’re now a child of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. You’ve been made the righteousness of God. You’re seated with Christ in heavenly places. Made heir and joint heir with Christ, a part of the family of God, and we have a reason for living. That’s more than enough reasons to be joyful.
Cultivate Intimacy with God
But how do you remain joyful? Well, first you must always remember all the things just mentioned. You must be aware of your status in Christ and you must keep your relationship with Him active.
It is said that 40% of long distance relationships don’t make it. If your relationship with Christ is from a distance, it will not survive. To maintain your joy, you must make a commitment. Like every other love relationship the flame will go out if it is not tended.
Just how do you tend your relationship?
You develop and jealously guard your prayer life. Learn how to pray. Prayer is our communication channel with God. You must keep that channel open. If your communication is only once in a while or when you have a need, your relationship will be strained and uncomfortable.
Carve out specific times of the day when you go into prayer.
Daniel prayed at specific times of the day and nothing would prevent him from doing so (Dan. 6:10). In addition, seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit and pray in tongues for even half -an-hour during one of the prayer watches at night. This is a practice that will take your spiritual life to another level.
Read your Bible for even 15 minutes everyday.
Ask for revelation and illumination from Holy Spirit before you do. As best you can, find ways to memorize scripture – maybe a verse per week. This is how you hide the word in your heart.
Fast
Fast for even half a day per week and spend that time seeking a closer relationship with God in prayer, worship and meditation on the Word.
Cultivate a Relationship with Holy Spirit.
Many Christians ignore Him. He’s nothing more than an after thought at the best of times. But He is Ruach Elohim – the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel, the Spirit of Might, the Spirit of Know- ledge and the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord (see Isa. 11:2)
To find joy, you must recognize and interact with Holy Spirit as a person, because that is who He is – a person. What is more, this person is always with you. As a child of God, He lives in us. To build your relationship with Him, you must connect and interact with Him as you would a very close friend.
Study the Word & Apply it to Your Life
There is no point in reading or even hearing the word without applying it to your life. If you are a hearer and not a doer of the word, the Bible in James 1:23 – 24 tells us: for if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like.
The Word must be applied to be effective. It is the applied word that will bring about change. As you apply the word, it becomes a light to your feet and a lamp to your path.
What do we mean by applying the word?
Each time that we read, we must ask Holy Spirit to show us what we need to learn. Is there a precept [any commandment, instruction, or order intended as a rule of action or conduct; especially, a practical rule guiding behavior], are there principles [an enduring truth, a law, a rule you can adopt to guide you in making decisions.] or a promise (a declaration or assurance which God has given in his word of bestowing blessings on his people] that we need to apply to our lives?
Every book of the Bible has something to teach – honesty, the importance of obedience to God, the price for sin, compassion, generosity, the sin of pride, faith, faithfulness – there will always be desirable virtues that we need to cultivate or destructive vices to avoid.
If we are not living according to the word of God, we cannot claim to be children of God. Paul says, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9).
Look at the World Through the Lens of the Bible
Our world today is one of confusion, catastrophe, war and threats of war. Things are changing so fast it feels like a merry go round out of control. And yet there’s an air of suspense. The media brings us a constant stream of reports – accidents, murders, wars, one catastrophe after another.
We see the attack on Truth. Truth is now viewed as relative. There has never been a more intense attack on the family structure nor more confusion around gender and sexuality. One could easily become anxious and distressed.
As Christians, how do we keep our peace and joy in this climate of constant change and apprehension? How do we keep our peace when it seems that the very foundations are shaking? The truth is that we should not be anxious or surprised. The Bible tells us that we are living in the last days and as such, we should be prepared for the turmoil that we see around us. Matthew chapter 24 makes an interesting read in these days. 2 Timothy 3:2 brings further illumination:
1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
So how do we keep our joy? The Word of God says, 19 If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied (1 Cor. 15:19).
So, we turn our gaze heavenward.
We turn our focus on God. Our hope is in Him alone. Our joy and peace come from knowing that none of these things is taking Him by surprise. He told us to expect these things so now that they are happening, we can be even more sure that His word is true.
As children of God, we do not belong to this rapidly deteriorating world. If the word of God is true, soon and very soon we are going to see the King. So, until then, we strive to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). We also work to bring others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, thereby, giving them the same hope and peace and joy that we have.
Rev. 12:12 says, Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them [in the presence of God]. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you in great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time [remaining]!”(Amp).
The Bible also says that the time is short. Satan knows it and every child of God should it too.
Cultivate a Positive Attitude
To cultivate a positive attitude, we must allow the word of God to dwell richly in our heart. Our world view, our interaction with others and our every day disposition must come from our understanding of the word of God. This means that our thought life and the words that we speak should be in agreement with the Word.
To come into agreement with what the word of God says, we must be intentional. We must take every thought captive and bring it to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).
If our thought life is in obedience to the word of God, we will have a positive attitude. We must capture any wayward thoughts that may be pulling us down and bring them into agreement with what the word of God says. This is a habit that can transform our perception of life and everything that happens in our lives. Mastery over what we think and say is essential.
Sometimes We Allow Negativity
Sometimes we allow negativity to seep in and we begin to say things which are not in alignment with what God says and before we are even aware of how deeply we are being affected by our negative thoughts we find ourselves in what feels like a pit. We must speak to ourselves in these times.
1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
The Psalmist continues . . .
6 My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”
10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
If we can approach life looking at the world and our circumstances the way God sees it, our attitude will be positive.
A positive attitude also comes from a heart of thankfulness. Things could always be worse than it is. No matter what is happening in our lives, someone somewhere is having it much worse. Sometimes we need to pause and examine our lives for all the things that we take for granted and begin to be truly grateful.
Associate with Godly Like-minded Friends
God never intended for us to be on this journey alone. It is wonderful to have friends who share our faith and world view. We all need someone to talk with at times when things are not going well. We may need support, encouragement, advise or someone who can pray with us or for us.
Someone who does not share our perspective on life cannot offer us that. They may emphasize with us, but cannot really come along side us as a trusted Christian friend can. Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
Sincere Godly friends are truly wonderful gifts on this journey
We need friends in the bad times but also in the good times. Having friends with whom we can talk about any current event, but also about the Lord and his goodness, or our relationship with Him, the things we are learning or the way he has moved in a particular situation makes the journey so much more pleasurable.
Conversations or debates with people or even friends who do not share or worldview can sometimes degenerate into confrontations. With likeminded friends our conversations are more likely to be amicable. These are people who bring peace and joy to our daily lives.
To find peace we must turn to the Prince of Peace and in His presence we will find fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).