How to take back your joy

Are your pursuits worth pursuing? I often have moments where I sit and reevaluate my frivolous activity and weak attempts at “living this life right”. Ladies, let’s be honest, our lives are inundated with unimportant stuff we deem as “sooo very important right now”. And, I mean, we’re human, and we totally base our decisions and pursuits on how much money and comfort we will get out of it. But I sometimes wonder if it’s worth it. Is there joy in having money and worldly comforts? If not, then WHERE can you find it and how can you take back your joy?

I mean, we totally freak ourselves out by striving to “successful” on other peoples terms. How do you rate whether you are living a successful life? Maybe it’s (subconsciously) based on the size of your house or the cleverness and well-adjusted behavior of your children. Maybe it’s calculated on the amounts of charities you support or the size of your group of friends. Perhaps you are working towards a hefty retirement package or that trip overseas or a boob job. Maybe a successful life, to you, means you are finally able to make it through the month without taking out a loan at work.

Whatever your mantra, my question is: Are your pursuits worth pursuing?

Our pursuits are almost always linked to our happiness. I mean, that’s why we gun for certain things anyways. You know how it goes: “if only I could just…… then everything would be so much better!” I don’t know about you, but I think it’s rather depressing to live a life where your happiness is based on one thing or the other. Your happiness – your joy – is so much more valuable than that! Your joy is free of charge, yet holds so much power. Allowing something (of lesser importance) to influence it, is simply unacceptable!

Sometimes we rob ourselves of our joy, because things do not look the way we want it to look. We expect a certain outcome or work towards a specific goal and subconsciously connect our happiness to it. But the truth is that happiness – REAL happiness – is not co-dependent on anything or anyone.

My joy is not for sale. My joy is not dependent. My joy is valuable and it is not easily shaken!

My challenge, to you, this week, is to consider what you are putting all your focus and energy on. Is it worth it? Try to determine whether it is important enough to influence your happiness or steal your joy.
And then… take it back!

Nehemiah 8:10 – The joy of the Lord is my strength