Discovering Joy With the PsalmsНамуна

Do you ever struggle with something that sucks the life out of you? Like mosquitos that survive by sucking the blood out of other creatures, some things seem to exist solely to empty us of our joy. Perhaps your problem isn't blood-sucking insects, but a family member or life crisis that is stealing your sense of joy.

We All Have Joy-Suckers

Margaret Feinberg describes these people and circumstances as “joy suckers,” and they pose the greatest challenge to our life with God. We long to live with a pervasive sense of joy, yet our experience is often far from that. It can often feel like someone has tricked us during our search for joy.

I’ve found hope and help in the book of Psalms. In this plan, I want to show you how to discover and sustain joy, especially in hard circumstances.

Psalm 100 tells us that God’s character is the source of our joy. Everyone I’ve met wants to be happy. It often feels like we’re all on a “happiness quest.” This is difficult because happiness is circumstantial, often a result of forces outside of our control.

Joy, however, is bigger than our circumstances. Joy is rooted in who God is, what He’s done, and who He’s been in our lives. That’s why Psalm 100 opens with the psalmist inviting us to “shout for joy to the LORD…worship the LORD…and know the LORD.”

In her incredible book on joy, written in the middle of her battle with cancer, Margaret Feinberg taught me about the power of joy to help navigate hard times. There, she wrote that “joy emanates out of the abiding sense of God’s fierce love for us.”

Do you know that you are loved by God? Does it ever feel like His love for you is fleeting? If so, then I’d encourage you to read and meditate on the verses in today’s plan. The strength of our joy is the steadfast love of God, which does not change based on our circumstances. As we get a bigger and more lasting sense of how loved we are, we find joy to be more available to us.

Tomorrow, I’m going to share how joy is accessible in all circumstances. If your circumstances are making you feel like joy is out of reach, you’re going to want to keep reading!