Joy isn’t a natural response to difficult circumstances or suffering, but with God, we can experience each fruit of the Spirit. 5 ways to cultivate joy.
At the time Jennifer asked me to write about joy, I was anything but joyful. In fact, I was in a real funk. A long winter filled with snow days, bitter cold and sick kids had me feeling weary. Furthermore, fixating on the circumstances happening to me left me feeling spiritually dry.
Honestly, joy seemed like a topic I was incapable of writing; God obviously knows what we need and has a wise sense of humor. In the form of a guest post, God prompted me to recognize what I needed at exactly the right time. I’m so thankful God offered an opportunity to seek and find joy. And to remind me of my need to rely fully on Him to provide.
Cultivate Joy
I’m honored to the share truths God gave me, old and new, about cultivating joy with all of you and with the readers of Minding The Kings. At Minding The Kings, Jennifer shares Inspiration for Christ Following and Family Living. Currently, she is collaborating with other bloggers to offer a series about growing in the fruit of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 (WEB, emphasis mine)
As you head over to read more about cultivating joy today, I invite you to follow along with each fruit. You’re sure to find encouragement and practical tips for cultivating and growing each fruit in our lives.
Our unwavering, right standing before God and restored relationship with Him is our constant source of joy. #joy #fruitofthespirit #faith #thisgratefulmama Click To TweetAdditional Resources
Teaching Kids: Joy, Becca, My Joyful MOMent
Joy in the Mundane, Erica Renaud, To Unearth
6 Ways to Reclaim Joy When Stuck In Mom Guilt, Elaine Stores, This Grateful Mama
Nice post. I think that positive thinking is one of the best steps one can take towards joy 🙂 thanks for sharing!
Very beautiful thank you for sharing.
Joy is definitely more than a feeling. If we look at God as our source, especially of joy, it makes it so much easier to have true joy despite the circumstances.
Yes, Thank you Ayanna! God is definitely the source and true joy can only come from Him. Isn’t it comforting to know God provides the fruit of the Spirit? We don’t have to produce it or come up with it on our own. He is so good to us!
Focusing on our circumstances makes joy so hard. Thank you for this reminder that God is bigger than our circumstances.
So true, and yet it is hard NOT to focus on our circumstances, isn’t it? We definitely need God’s help to keep our eyes fixed on Him. He is faithful; He won’t give up when we look away and is always looking towards us, calling us back!
Oh this is SO good! I can certainly relate to those days of NOT feeling very joyful. My kids have been sick for what seems like FOREVER! With sick kids at home, I’m stuck at home too! The long, dreary days of winter cascading into rainy days of spring, weighs heavily on my heart. But you have given me encouragement today! Funny how God finds us in these unexpected places, and leads us home. He knows what we need.❤️
I’m so thankful this meets you where you are today! You are certainly not alone in feeling that way, and I can definitely relate. You’re right, God is SO good and knows exactly what we need when we need it. What a loving Father He is! Thank you for sharing your thoughts here today, you’ve encouraged me as well.
Thanks so much for sharing this, Elaine! I’m working on reclaiming joy in motherhood, and one thing that I have noticed is that I lose joy when I focus my mind on the wrong things…like I’m doing all this work, but I’m not serving from the right place. My heart is focused on me..just like you mentioned above I lose joy when not focused on Jesus.
Jennifer is such an amazing writer. Thank you so much for sharing her inspiration. I needed a little “joy” reminder as well.