How to find Joy during a Dark Season?
We live in a society where the activities on our daily life sometimes catches us and hits us with an unknown, out of the blue situation in which we don’t know how to react.
These types of situations instantly take us to a route that we didn’t plan and finding the joy or happiness out of them takes a big toll on us. We know that even the most mature of God’s people experience periods of joylessness. For instance, Job wished he had never been born (Job 3:11). David prayed to be taken away to a place where he would not have to deal with reality (Psalm 55:6–8). Elijah, even after defeating 450 prophets of Baal with fire called down from heaven (1 Kings 18:16–46), fled into the desert and asked God to take his life. If these men struggled, don’t you think we would too?
Some days, when life is beating us up left and right, it seems impossible to find things to be joyful. The Bible gives us a different story though. James 1:2-4 that says,
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
The Bible says that not only is it possible to find things to be joyful about during trials, but it actually commands us to do so! Unfortunately, part of being a Christian means that we will face times of difficulty. Why? Because even though we are Christians, we are still human beings and that's part of the plan. Jesus went through rough times during His earthly ministry, and if we want to be like Him, (which is what the Christians life is all about), we too will have some hard knocks. Trials are no fun, but the Bible says God uses them to make us stronger just as when you go work out in a gym.
But how can we experience consistent joy in the Christian life? The first thing is to realize that joy is a gift from God. The root word for joy in the Greek is chara, which is closely related with the Greek charis for “grace.” Joy is both a gift of God as well as a response to the gifts of God.
Following God's command to be joyous in the midst of trials is really a matter of perspective. If you really look and think hard enough, you will always find something to be thankful for—even if life seems too hard to go on. Be thankful for your relationship with God, thankful for your health, thankful for another day of life. Be thankful that your situation is not worse than it is. If you step back, you can find the joy and encouragement that God is sending to you. Be thankful for something as simple as a bird that suddenly flew by and made you smile. With this in mind, it’s evident that one way to experience joy is to focus on God. Rather than dwelling on our difficulties, the earthly things that are robbing our contentment, we can dwell on God. This is not to say we should deny our discontent or stuff negative emotions that we experience towards it.
When you’re going through a difficult time, don’t try to get rid of the pain or pretend it’s not there. Aversion to feeling what’s here will only increase it. Feel the sadness fully. Allow it to be here and move through you in its own time, held with an open compassionate heart. But I recommend taking it in manageable doses. Remember to refresh and nourish yourself too. Take breaks from your sorrow and reflect on the blessings in your life.
Another way to experience joy in the Christian life is through community. It's harder to be happy when you're isolated. Surrounding yourself with other happy people can hike your odds of being upbeat by 9 percent according to current studies. Many counselors suggest that you find a partner in your pursuit of happiness, what they call a "joy buddy." Having someone rooting for your well-being and reminding you to look for the good in your life is a very effective way to stay on track. Studies have shown that holding another person’s hand when going through physical or psychological pain actually raises our own threshold of tolerance.
This not only lessens the suffering but allows a more skillful response to the situation. In difficult times, knowing we’re not alone in our suffering, but also in our deep caring, we can inspire each other and create a force field of tremendous power. That buddy can be a friend you trade positive text messages with every day or a joy group you meet with once a week or a month. We, too, need friends that we can share our hurts and pains with. With our fellow believers, we hold firm to our faith, trusting in the character of God. We also encourage one another. Life can be lonely and discouraging. Having that fellowship with others helps to remind us of truth, and they help us while strengthening us to continue on.
Happiness is fleeting, but joy sticks around. The truth is that life isn't fair. You know it. I know it. Things happen that knock us off of our feet. But we have a God who promises to lead us by the hand, to wrap his arms around us, and to work out our life for His glory. During the dark days, when we think we just can’t make it another step, let’s remember that Jesus never leaves us no matter what we’re going through. So keep looking straight through that mountain and claim your victory that is on the other side; the choice is yours. Look around and be thankful. Look inward and be accessible. Look ahead and be victorious and start unlocking the secrets of the membership of God’s gym so you can find the joy in the midst of whatever comes your way.
About the author: As a 24 year old women at the time I experienced a Nervous Breakdown that turn into a Psychosis episode. Psychosis is a serious mental disorder characterized when thinking and emotions are so impaired, indicating that the person experiencing them has lost contact with reality. These experiences can be frightening, but for me it turned into experiencing God's Grace as well as finding my purpose and the step towards a call to the ministry of Counseling. As an end result, a passion for counseling built upon the convictions of the sufficiency of Scripture, came into the centrality of my core, and became a new vision into my life. You can read my entire story in the Amazon Best Seller Book called I AM R.E.D.D. You can reach out to Mariandreina Fariashere: http://www.restoreyourselftoday.com
