Wednesdays’s post was about exhibiting the fruits of the spirit as Christians. Today, we’re discussing practical ways to exhibit joy. Read yesterday’s post here.

We can set a great example by exhibiting Joy in “being”–

this is simply having a good attitude when things don’t go our way, or as we planned them. I wonder how many times God sees our complaining, grumbling hearts (or Facebook statuses!) and grieves- because he gave us so much, and we still find plenty to whine about.

The Bible tells us in I Thessalonians 5:16-18 to “Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” {NIV, emphasis mine}

This is God’s will for us! To choose a complaining attitude is to choose to go against God’s will for our lives. This really convicted me when I took time to truly meditate on it. We pray so hard to find God’s specific will for our lives- and then don’t do the things he explicitly states are his will.

We can also find Joy in Giving–

The Bible plainly states that God loves a cheerful giver. {2 Corinthians 9:7} Not a tight-fisted giver, not a “look at me” kind of giver. One that humbly and cheerfully gives a portion of what he or she has back to God. I have heard it said many times that 20% of the members of any particular church gives 80% of the tithes and offerings. On the flip side, that means that 80% of the church is only giving 20%.

If you’re reading this right now, you are very likely in the United States. That means you live in one of the most financially blessed countries in the world, and yet we are easily one of the most self-centered countries in the world.

Giving not only implies giving to the church, but to those who have less than us. The Bible tells us that true, pure religion consists of helping out the fatherless and widows. If you don’t know where to start in helping, check out one of these great organizations: Compassion International– you can sponsor a child for about $40 a month. World Vision also does this- we sponsor our child through them. These are also excellent opportunities for teaching our children about giving- they can give part of their allowance to buy goodies for the kids, and also write letters to them. We picked out a child with our son’s exact birthday and he talks about him as if they’ve been friends for years! (Update, we now sponsor 3 children, one for each of our 3 oldest children, that are his or her age. I got to meet one last year!)

One of the best ways to experience Joy is by serving–

If you grew up in church, you may remember the old acronym of J.O.Y. = Jesus, Others, Yourself. It may seem like a little cheesy saying, but if we really put this into practice, how much joy would we spread? I know that in my own life, when I focus on Kelli, things do not go well. I think it is a downward spiral, no? And it’s hard to get out of this negativity!

The easiest way I have found to stop self-pitying is to help someone else! I have an abundance of ideas in my ongoing series on encouragement. God did not intend for us to spend our lives focusing on “self”. I know this is so contrary to modern belief. Heck, there’s even a magazine called Self. But if we truly want to have joyful lives, we must focus our eyes on God first, then others, and ourselves last.

Ladies, let’s spur each other on towards joy! If you find yourself starting to dig yourself into the grave of self-pity, ask yourself these questions, “What have I done today to connect with God? What have I done today to help someone else? What can I thank God for today?” And let’s hold each other accountable as well. Our earthly home will be a better place for it.

What other ways can we exhibit joy?