The power of joy

One of the most unsung pieces of artillery in the war chest provided to us by God is joy and good humor. In my life, I have experienced the good humor of joy pull me out of quite a few downward spirals. You see, I naturally lean toward the melancholic end of the personality spectrum, and it’s because of those tendencies that I have to constantly remind myself when the going gets tough to stop fretting and put joy into practice. And I’m here to testify as a natural-born brooder and agonizer: I have found purposeful joy to be extremely effective against the schemes of the enemy, and it is one of my best go-to weapons of warfare when it comes to my own moods, feelings, and anxieties. It works—that’s why I use it!

As with every good thing we receive from God, Satan has devised a clever counterfeit for true humor and joy. Although I’m not addressing joy’s counterfeit here, suffice it to say that no one—including the devil—counterfeits worthless items. It is clear that joy and good humor are very valuable when used in the right way.

A much-quoted Scripture declares at the end of Nehemiah 8:10, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

How does this joy—and its sidekick, good humor—work to strengthen you? Well, first of all, let me state something upfront. I’m not referring to pretend “smiley-ness” and “praise the Lord-iness” that we can sometimes hide behind to make others think we’ve got it all together. (I’ve been guilty, too.) No; the joy of the Lord which releases the strength of God is confrontational joy and humor—not exercised to impress others—but exerted in confrontation against the enemy—and against your own negativity, pain, or depression.

When you confront the devil with the joy of the Lord, he cannot stand against the strength that God imparts through it. Joy released during times of stress, pain, torment, or any other negative mindset or emotion empowers you to resist the devil, forcing him to flee from you.

However, sometimes an even more formidable foe stands between you and the attainment of God’s promises—you yourself. How can you operate in joy when your mind or emotions scream in agony against the universe—or your neighbor—or your boss—or your body racked with pain? It’s times like these when joy—and more simply, humor—can be among your most valuable assets.

When I catch myself becoming uptight and taking myself too seriously, I’ve learned that the quickest path out the inevitable downward spiral is through exercising the joy of the Lord and good humor. At first I have to force myself to participate in the process, but as I do, true joy eventually takes over and I am strengthened and refreshed. Remember—this is confrontational joy, and the target of this confrontation is you.

I have exercised this purposeful form of joy against my own negativity more times than I can count. Allow me to embarrass myself as I share some examples.

• During times of emotional overload in my twenties, I accidentally discovered that if I forced myself to look in the mirror when I was crying, I would end up laughing—especially if I made faces at myself. As I laughed at myself in the mirror, I got tickled by the absurdity of it all, and stress and pain seemed to fade away. Then my trust in God would return along with real joy. I challenge you to try this technique if you feel yourself sinking into self-pity. It has worked for me.

• Driving home after one of those days as an eighth-grade teacher when no one would listen and the paperwork piled as high as Mount Rushmore, the Spirit of God prompted me to smile. I did so for a second or two and then resumed complaining to Him. No, He urged; keep smiling—all the way home. I felt like an idiot with a big fake grin plastered to my face for the next few minutes. But it wasn’t long until the power of those smile muscles started oozing sunshine down into my whiny soul, and by the time I reached my driveway, I was laughing and rejoicing. Again, I have exercised this technique more than once since then. It’s highly powerful when used against frustration, stress, or an overall negative attitude; I guarantee that if you stick with it, you’ll end up smiling for real.

• At times in bed when pain attacked my body and I couldn’t sleep, I realized that I must have somehow stirred up a hornet’s nest by my life or prayers—the physical symptoms were a clue to me that the enemy was not pleased. And somehow, the image of him irritated by my life in Christ tickled me, so I laughed. And laughed. And laughed. As I laughed big, hearty, belly laughs there in bed, pain-induced anxiety lifted and symptoms subsided. I laughed big laughs one night not too long ago at the pain which was immobilizing one of my hands—and that pain simply drained out and vanished, and I fell asleep, a happy camper with a fully functioning hand.

The joy of the Lord is your strength. As counter-intuitive as it may feel—especially to a melancholic personality-type—confronting yourself with joy and good humor when in the pit of despair, self-pity, or pain is exactly what the Great Physician ordered. And as you allow yourself to participate in purposeful joy, you will find the negativity fade away, and in its place will be the strength which only comes when you exercise the joy of the Lord.

May you be strengthened as you confront negativity with joy!

Dorothy