What if I told you that you and I have the option to experience joy every single day.... and yet, we consistently choose not to take it?

What an incomprehensible notion, right? If you had the option to choose feeling joy over anxiety in a situation, you'd think you would choose joy every time. So why is it that so many of us are constantly worried, even when we have no cause to be?

So often, I encounter Christians (myself definitely included) who believe that being in a constant state of sadness or worry is something that God desires for them. We might not explicitly say this, but the things we say and do reflect it.

We thrive in anxiety and worry, feeding off of it and finding identity in it, rather than developing the courage to rid it from our lives. We think the life of a Christ-follower is meant to be a long and difficult road, with suffering and sadness. We somehow believe that we're not supposed to enjoy the things that we most love, because God desires for us to suffer in life for His sake.

I'm sorry, but what an absolutely ridiculous concept.

Why would the God of love want us to be stressed out or sad all the time? Why would He desire for us to always be in a state of worry or fear or depression?

Lately, I've been seriously struggling with negative thoughts that have caused me to be worried and insecure for really no reasons, other than those of my own making. I'd been allowing doubts to infiltrate my mind and choosing to be moody or sad, when I could have been experiencing something else entirely.

Attending Sunday school, we were all taught the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. We can recite these perfectly, but when it comes to real-life application, we're often stumped and we tend to forget that all, yes I do mean ALL, of them are included for a reason.

Absolutely, love is huge and should be exercised consistently, but many of us get so wrapped up in just this one attribute that we forget the VERY NEXT ONE that is just as important- joy.

Joy is a virtue, my friends, not a guilty pleasure.

Having joy in the midst of a difficult situation is not only a much better solution than worrying, but it also allows others to see the joy of God through you. This is why James tells us to consider it "pure joy" to experience trials and challenges, because it grows perseverance in us.

This is not a guarantee that there will never be challenges and that you will never have an opportunity to be stressed out or anxious beyond belief. It is, however, a guarantee that when these things happen (because they WILL happen), we are always given an opportunity to choose joy.

Of course suffering for the sake of Christ is a noble pursuit that many Christians have gone through and should be recognized as such. However, suffering is most certainly NOT all that God desires for us. God desires for us to find our peace and joy in Him, not to allow worry and fear to reign in our lives.

This said, let these words serve as a reminder whenever we are tempted to allow anxiety or worry to take over. Joy is not something to be ashamed of or something to run away from. Joy should be a virtue we hold to always, especially in times when it seems none can be found. Joy should be filling us up every day and impacting the lives of those around us. In fact, joy has a name... and its name is Jesus.