Today, we delve into the essence of joy, distinguishing it from fleeting happiness and emphasizing its pivotal role as a source of strength in our lives. True joy, as we shall explore, is an enduring state that transcends external circumstances, rooted in our relationship with God. I will guide you through practical methods for cultivating this joy amidst the challenges we face, highlighting the significance of gratitude, serving others, and embracing simplicity. As we reflect on the nature of joy, we will also consider the obstacles that may hinder our experience of it, and how we can consciously shift our focus to the unwavering goodness of God. Join us as we embark on this transformative journey towards a deeper understanding of joy and its capacity to sustain us through life's trials.

Takeaways:

1. The content presented in Living the Selah Life serves the purpose of spiritual encouragement and personal reflection.
2. Joy, unlike happiness, is a deep-rooted gladness that is independent of external circumstances.
3. Cultivating joy necessitates a conscious shift in focus towards God's unchanging character and presence.
4. Practicing gratitude is an effective method for fostering joy and shifting our perspective on life's blessings.
5. One obstacle to experiencing joy is unresolved pain or bitterness, which can hinder our ability to embrace happiness.
6. Serving others can be a surprising source of joy, as it diverts focus from our own challenges to the needs of those around us.

The content shared on Living the Selah Life is for spiritual encouragement, personal reflection, and informational purposes only.

It is not intended to diagnose, treat or replace medical, psychological or professional advice of any kind.

Please consult a licensed healthcare provider or qualified professional for any physical, mental or emotional health concerns.

The views expressed are those of the host, Kimberly Lockanorm, and are based on personal experience and Biblical insight, not clinical training.

Welcome back to Living the Selah Life, a podcast that invites you to slow down, breathe deep, and reconnect with the presence of God.

I'm your host, Kimberly Lockanore, and this face is for anyone longing to become more familiar with his presence.

Whether you're just discovering what it means to pause with God or you've been walking this path for a while, I'm so glad you're here.

Each episode is an intentional pause, a moment to reflect, realign, and remember that God meets us when we create space for Him.

So take a breath.

You are right on time.

Let's live the Selah life together.

Hey.

Hey y'.

All.

Welcome back to Living the Selah Life.

So in our last episode, we began a journey into the fruit of the Spirit.

Focusing on love as the foundational aspect, we explored how God's love is freely given and meant to be expressed through us.

Today we move to the next aspect of this beautiful fruit, joy.

We will talk about what true joy is and how it differs from happiness and how we can cultivate it in our lives no matter our circumstances.

So I'm going to call our main teaching today, joy as a strength, because it truly is so people can sometimes confuse joy with happiness.

Happiness often depends on external circumstances, like everything around us going good, going with the flow of life as we want it to be.

And so we are happy.

But joy is different.

Joy is like a deep seated gladness that comes from within and it's independent of what is happening around us.

And I cannot tell you how true that is.

And I'm sure you guys know you will never have to ever wonder if the Holy Spirit is with you when you are able to have joy in the midst of straight up the world's worst.

And that has been the case for I know, not just me, for many people, but it is definitely fruit from the Holy Spirit.

So the Bible tells us In Nehemiah chapter 8, verses 10 do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

And you knew I was going there.

So this means that joy, like real joy, that it comes from God and it empowers us to face challenges.

It gives Us the inner strength to keep going even when things are hard.

So the source of true joy.

Where does this unwavering joy truly come from?

True, unwavering joy originates from God Himself.

It is a strength.

When we speak of cultivating the fruit of the Spirit, we're talking about allowing the Holy Spirit to reproduce God's character within us.

This means that joy is just like love that we talked about last week, joy all the time, that deep seated joy, that joy that's seated in gladness, cannot be sustained through our own willpower.

It is a gift that grows as we draw closer to the giver.

So let's talk about the nature of God's joy.

He is perfectly joyful in himself, complete and lacking nothing.

His joy is not dependent on external factors, but flows from his oh so perfect nature.

When we align ourselves with him and we choose to trust his goodness and his sovereignty, we tap into this eternal wellspring of joy.

Psalms chapter 16, verse 11 says, you will show me the path of life.

In your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

This verse highlights that joy is found in God's presence.

Joy comes as we draw near to Him.

And understanding this can shift our approach to cultivating joy.

So we don't have to focus solely on trying to feel happy.

If we focus on our relationship with God, if we spend time in his presence and allow his joy to just saturate our spirits and our soul and our everything, as we are filled with his nature, joy naturally begins to flow from us.

This is the essence of living by the Spirit.

There are so many things that people talk about about walking in the Spirit, and most are so hyper focused on sin that Christ came and died by the way.

But the fruits of the Spirit that come from the Holy Spirit, like they are weapons of warfare.

So as we are filled by his nature, joy naturally begins to flow from us.

And while joy is beautiful and a desirable quality, I do understand and God understands that we all face obstacles.

Life can be very demanding and people can be difficult and our own internal struggles can make it challenging to experience this deep gladness.

That's what I, that's what I call joy, a deep gladness, because it goes beyond just being glad.

It's like a deep seated gladness.

And there are some common hurdles to joy, but we can navigate every last one of them.

One significant obstacle is focusing on circumstances.

When our eyes are fixed on what is going wrong, on the challenges, the disappointments, all the losses, it becomes very difficult to experience joy because Joy does not depend on perfect circumstances.

It is found in knowing that God is good and that he is with us.

And we have to be able to believe that and to tap into his strength in those moments where life is lifing.

Cultivating joy requires a conscious shift in focus, like we have to deliberately do it.

It's not something that just happens.

It's a conscious shift in our focus.

Where we choose to look beyond our immediate situation to the unchanging character of God doesn't mean that we have to ignore our pain.

But we're choosing to acknowledge our pain while simultaneously holding onto the truth of God's faithfulness.

Another hurdle to joy can be unresolved pain or bitterness.

If we're holding on to past hurts, resentment, or unforgiveness, these emotions can act like a blanket, like a heavy blanket smoldering any potential for joy.

Bitterness is a poison that affects only the one who holds it.

This is where the connection between joy and forgiveness becomes vital.

But that's a whole nother podcast.

Comparison is another thief of joy.

When we constantly compare our lives or our possessions, our achievements, our relationships to those of others, we inevitably find ourselves lacking.

Social media often fuels this type of comparison, and don't let that be you.

True joy is found in contentment with what God has given us and who he has made us to be.

Joy celebrates our own journey and recognizes the unique blessings in our life.

And finally, being super busy and always distracted can hinder joy.

And this is one that I have to overcome all of the time.

I think I told you this before, but the Holy Spirit told me once, don't allow what needs to be done to overshadow what has already been done.

Game changer for me.

Because while we do always have a ton of things to do all the time, he wanted me to never.

And he wants you to never lose sight of what has already been done, the progress that has already been made, the marks that have already been passed that you didn't think you would ever pass.

So don't ever allow what needs to be done to overshadow what is what has already been done.

So being busy, really, really busy, or distracted all the time can hinder our joy.

It becomes easy to become so overwhelmed with our schedules and our responsibilities that we lose touch with the simple pleasures and the presence of God by constantly doing without taking moments to pause, reflect, and to just be.

It's hard.

Cultivating joy in a busy life requires intentionality.

You have to create space for rest, for reflection, and for connecting with God.

You have to choose to be present in the moment rather than constantly thinking about the next thing.

And overcoming these obstacles can be a process, but it's okay because we're starting today.

It requires an ongoing reliance on the Holy Spirit, who is the source of all of our joy.

So as we invite him to work in us, he empowers us to overcome these challenges and to grow in our capacity to experience and express true joy.

So what are some practical ways to cultivate joy in our daily lives?

Because we are all busy.

Like I get it, we are all busy and some days are harder than others.

But there are some practical ways that we can cultivate some good old fashioned joy into our daily lives.

The first way is to practice gratitude.

Gratitude is a powerful pathway to joy.

When we intentionally focus on what we are thankful for, it shifts our perspective from what we are lacking to what has been given.

You can keep a gratitude journal and write in it or list things down however you want to.

Keep track of the things that you are grateful for and bring them to memory when necessary so that your joy remains full.

You can spend time in the presence of God and this one is my favorite and I am going to tell you why.

It is immediate.

When I say immediate, I mean like we're not getting up from this place until my joy is full.

Like that.

Absolutely.

That to me is the quickest way to remember.

Just remember.

We need to remember who he is, who we are, what we have to be thankful for.

And when you sit with him, he has a funny way of reminding you of things to be joyful for.

I can honestly say I have never left his presence downtrodden when I have come into his presence like that many, many times.

So yeah, you guys should try it if you don't already.

But you do because you're living the Selah life.

So I digress.

We're going to go on.

You can serve others One of the most surprising ways to experience joy is by serving.

When we focus on the needs of the people around us or others around us, it shifts again our perspective away from our own problems and it opens our hearts to the joy of giving.

So you can look for opportunities to volunteer to help a neighbor or just offer a kind word or gesture to someone in need.

The joy of giving is lasting too.

This is also one of my favorite ones.

Embrace simplicity.

So embracing simplicity can be a actually very powerful pathway to joy and you.

This means decluttering your life, reducing some distractions and focusing on what truly matters.

When we simplify, we create space for what brings us genuine joy.

And if you don't know what that is, because that's a thing, let's figure that out.

I want you to figure out what genuinely brings you joy.

If you don't know, Practice self care.

Taking care of your physical, emotional and spiritual well being is a must.

Get enough sleep if you can, eat nourishing foods, engage in physical activities and pursue hobbies that refresh your spirit.

Limit your exposure to negativity.

Be mindful of what and who you allow into your mind and your spirit.

This includes people, news, social media conversations.

I know it's important for some people to stay informed, but constant exposure to negativity can drain your joy.

So you can choose to limit that exposure and intentionally seek out sources of inspiration and hope Celebrate small victories this is another big one.

So life is full of small victories.

And when everything seems to be going wrong, we so easily forget the victories that preceded that the season where everything is going wrong.

So small victories and blessings go unnoticed.

So take time to celebrate those moments, no matter how small they may seem.

By consistently applying some of these practical steps, you can create fertile ground for godly joy to take root and flourish in your life.

You will often hear me say intentionality because it is with intention that everything that we talk about this podcast on this podcast occurs.

It is through your awareness and you're doing it on purpose for a specific reason.

So we will move on to our Scripture Spotlight and our Scripture comes from Psalms chapter 30, verses 5 and then verses 11 and 12.

And it says, for his anger is but for a moment.

His favor is for life.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

You have turned for me, my morning into dancing.

You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness that my glory may sing praise to you and not be silent.

Oh Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

This passage reveals beautiful things about God's heart and his desire to bring joy into our lives.

So it says, his favor is for life.

So while difficult seasons are temporary, God's favor toward us is permanent.

His goodness towards us lasts for our entire lifetime and beyond.

And this gives us a foundation for joy that does not depend on circumstances.

He said, joy comes in the morning.

And this is not necessarily talking about a literal morning, but about God's promises that seasons of sorrow will not last forever.

Joy is coming.

This hope can sustain us through difficult nights and give us strength to keep going.

And I have actually used that many times.

My morning is now.

He turns mourning into dancing.

Notice the active role that God plays in changing our sorrow into joy.

He actively works to turn our mourning into dancing.

And this is his heart toward us, clothed with gladness.

This image here is of God removing our clothes of mourning and dressing us in garments of gladness.

Joy becomes something we wear, something that covers us and is invisible to others that my glory may sing praise.

And the purpose of this change is that we might give glory to God.

Our joy becomes a testimony to his goodness and his faithfulness.

When others see our joy in the midst of trials, it points them to the reality of God's love.

Thanksgiving Forever the Psalms ends with a commitment to give thanks forever.

Joy and gratitude are intimately connected.

When we recognize God's goodness in our lives, thanksgiving flows naturally, and thanksgiving fuels more joy.

This passage of Scripture shows us that God's heart is to bring joy into our lives, even when we're walking through difficult seasons.

This gives us hope that no matter what we're facing today, joy is part of God's plan for our life.

So we will move into this week's Pause prompts.

And pause prompts are designed so that we can take inventory of where we are, so that if we need to move past that, past where we are, that we will know it.

No condemnation, no judgment.

Ever.

So when you think about joy in your life, what comes to mind?

Do you experience it as a fleeting happiness or as something more sustaining?

What circumstances or situations tend to steal your joy most quickly?

Notice these patterns without judgment.

What obstacles to joy do you recognize in your life?

How well do you celebrate the small blessings and victories in your daily life?

And what might it look like to become more intentional about this?

What would it look like to ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with his joy daily and then let that joy overflow to the people around you?

Joy is a gift from God that grows as we spend time in his presence and learn to see our lives through his eyes.

We will move on into our Selah moment.

For today, this is our opportunity to personally receive God's joy Joy, and ask the Holy Spirit to make that joy a sustaining strength in our lives.

So you can begin by sitting comfortably, if you can, and take several deep breaths.

Say, holy Spirit, I come to you as the source of all joy.

Fill me with the joy that comes from from the Father's heart.

Simply position yourself to receive what he wants to give.

If you're aware of anything that might be blocking your ability to experience joy, Holy Spirit, we give you these burdens that weigh down our hearts.

Now imagine God's joy as a gentle, warming presence filling your heart.

It flows from his perfect love that he has for you and his perfect plan for your life.

Ask the Holy Spirit to let this joy become a strength that sustains you.

Ask God to let his joy flow through you to others.

Let us pray.

Father, thank you for being the source of true joy.

Thank you that your joy doesn't depend on everything going perfectly in our lives, but flows from your perfect love for us.

We admit that sometimes we look for joy in temporary things that can never satisfy our hearts the way that you do.

Holy Spirit, fill us with the joy that comes from knowing we are loved, completely forgiven and perfectly accepted by you.

When circumstances try to steal our joy, remind us that our gladness comes from who you are, not from what is happening around us.

Help us to receive your joy in a way that becomes a real strength in our lives, not one that we talk about with others or see others demonstrate, but may it become a living, breathing, real life thing to us when we face challenges.

Let joy give us courage.

Let joy remind us that you are working all things together for our good.

Show us how to cultivate joy through gratitude, through spending time in your presence, and through serving others with gladness.

Make us a people who bring encouragement wherever we go, who demonstrate to others that life with you is good, truly good.

We thank you that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

Thank you for turning our morning into dancing and clothing us with gladness.

Let our lives be a testimony to your goodness and your faithfulness.

It is in Jesus name that we pray and it is so.

Well that is it for today my friends.

Thank you for listening to Living the Selah Life.

If this moment stirred something in your spirit, please share it with someone who needs to be reminded to pause and listen.

You can connect with me on Instagram, my Facebook group or YouTube at Living the Selah Life or email me a Selah moment that you want to hear or a testimony.

I would love to hear it at Living the Selah Life at Proton Me.

That's Living the Cela life at P R O T O N Me.

Until next time.

Remember that God is speaking.

He wants to guide you and direct you and give you his wisdom for your life.

Create space to listen.

Be patient with yourself as you learn and trust that the same God who spoke the universe into existence wants to speak into your ordinary everyday life.

So may you go from this place rested not just in body but in spirit, carrying the awareness that his presence is always near.

May you be rooted in the unshakable word of God, the Logos that ground you and the rhema that guides you.

For man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

And may you keep rising into the life he designed for you, into purpose, into peace, into the fullness of his calling.

May you become a living.

Selah.

An intentional pause that reveals his presence.

In Jesus name.

Amen.

Selah.