Maybe you’ve tried to apply the old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." You’ve pulled up your bootstraps, shrugged off your disappointments and pasted a broad smile across your face. Surprisingly, this may actually work on certain occasions. But when your disappointment runs deep or you’ve suffered just one too many of them, making lemonade can seem impossible. You may even feel like you’ve run out of lemons altogether. What's a sad, thirsty person supposed to do?
On any normal day in this challenging world, there are enough disappointments to go around. Big and small setbacks pepper our daily lives. But add in a global pandemic and the number of disappointments skyrocket! One little virus has obliterated a sweeping number of events and dashed legions of dreams. If we're not careful, this same invader will steal our hope and snatch our joy. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Let me first acknowledge that these are hard days. Some of the challenges we are experiencing are rock-bottom tough and you’ll find no trivializing any of it here. Life can deliver blows that send us skidding across the basement of our souls. Now, perhaps more than ever, we need to decide where our joy and hope are going to come from—the things happening around us or something deeper? If our hope and joy in life are dependent on favorable circumstances, they will be fleeting at best because life doesn't hand us perfect scenarios very often. Sure, we have occasional moments when everything comes together in blissful sync. But if we’re being honest, most days come with a hiccup or ten or even a concrete road block. I, for one, don’t want my life dictated by hardship. I want hope. I want joy. And I want it daily.
To be candid, although most days I am able to look at life through a positive lens, I have wrestled with bouts of depression in the past and still have occasional days when I feel the tug toward despair. I know what it’s like to have your heart led into a dark hole and feel like there’s no way to emerge. If you’re in such a place right now, get the help you need to climb out of that pit. Talk to someone about your struggle and consider seeking counseling if your depression persists. You and I were not made to live in discouragement. God has better is store for us.
The Bible has a lot to say about choosing hope and joy—and not in an over-simplified, quick-fix kind of way. We’re told of a hope that comes from an authentic relationship with God who knows us, loves us, and is working everything in our lives inexplicably for our good. He has said we will experience trouble in this world, but even so offers the most abundant life in Him.
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33
“I (Jesus) have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fulness until you overflow!” - John 10:10 TPT
God acknowledges our disappointments and understands our pain, yet offers a joy that abides with the constant assurance of blessing and comfort. Even in our darkest times, God shines the light of hope and warms the embers of joy in His presence.
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence…” -Psalms 16:11 NIV
We are never required to surrender our hope nor our joy, no matter how many disappointments and hardships we face. These things cannot be taken without our permission. Nestled in the presence of God’s loving embrace, hope and joy are there for the taking—respite for the wounds of disappointment and sweeter than the sweetest lemonade.
Practical Ways to Choose Joy Daily:
Spend time with God in His Word. Read the Bible like it is God’s love letter to you personally (because it is!) and let it sink into your thoughts and your heart.
Spend time with God in prayer. Pour out your heart like water to God and then carry His presence with you throughout the day.
Spend time with God in praise. Praise him verbally and quietly as you fix your thoughts on things that are good and true.
Cultivate gratitude. Open your eyes to the multitude of blessings God has purposely placed in your life to uplift you, surprise you and bring you joy. You may want to start a gratitude journal to record the gifts you discover.
As you open yourself to God, He will illuminate your perspective with the light of heaven and you will find hope and joy in Him!