Choosing Joy

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

I’ve been privileged to serve in some level of ministry for around 25 years, 10 of which have been in vocational ministry. While I can’t tell you many things confidently, I can promise you one thing: as you serve in the church, sooner or later, you will face discouragement.

Sometimes, that discouragement will have a name and a face and be connected to a sternly worded email listing all the ways you “missed it” on a recent decision. Other times, it will be an internal, nagging feeling of dissatisfaction about something you worked really hard on, only for it to fall flat on the ground before it even took flight.

So, how do we choose joy in a season that feels more like the wilderness than the promised land?

We keep both feet on the ground with our eyes locked on Jesus. There are always a million scary things that could happen when our imagination gets hijacked by the devil, but we have to stay firmly planted in reality and keep a correct perspective on things. That doesn’t mean belittling serious situations or downplaying what we’re experiencing. It means we fight to keep just a little space between the conflict and our heart. Some of the most challenging things we find on our plates may not be things we can get rid of (family, job responsibilities, personal limitations, etc). Instead of holding them in our hands and trying to push them as far away as possible, what if we set them in our laps? Sure, we might still feel the pain of having them around, but then our hands become free to do other things.

We tend to drift in the direction of our eyes, so we keep them focused on Jesus. The time we spend reading the Bible hides His Word in our hearts. The prayers from our small group give us the encouragement we need to keep going. Tithing keeps our financial security in the Lord's hands, not our own. The coffees with team members remind us that we actually do have something to give. These things help keep Him on the throne of our hearts instead of our preferences and comfort.

While it isn’t easy, we have to choose joy. Every time we decide to remain joyful, it allows the Holy Spirit to bring about something amazing in our hearts: hope. And when we hope in the Lord, we are never put to shame.

Father, thank You for the grace You give us in every season. I recognize the call to serve you requires picking up a lonely, painful cross. You cause it to rain on the just and the unjust. May my heart stay so close to You that choosing to remain joyful even in the most challenging ministry seasons. I want to hear “well done” at the end of my race, and I want to live today in preparation for that moment! Amen.