No More Megawatt Smiles
"Joy cannot be summoned. It is something we receive rather than something we do. The source of joy is God: 'You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound' (Psalm 4:7, NIV). Jesus emphasized this Source of our joy when He said, 'I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete' (John 15:11, NIV). We cannot simply command, 'Be joyful!' Instead, joy is the by-product of a growing relationship between God and us. If we want joy, we must root ourselves in the Godhead. We must increase our worship of the Father, identify more the presence of Christ in our everyday living and become increasingly obedient to the Holy Spirit: 'The fruit of the Spirit is ... joy' (Galatians 5:22, NIV). So today, when joy is missing, I don't practice my spiritual smile in the morning mirror. I don't attempt to dazzle the grocery clerk with a dose of megawatt brightness. Instead, I pray, read Scripture and meditate -- pushing the roots of my fruit-bearing self deeper into spiritual soil. Then suddenly, while doing dishes, working against deadlines or grieving over the mystery of misery in the world, joy inhabits me, singing its own child-tune, kicking its glad heels against my heart. Unexpected, unbidden -- but a welcome gift -- joy is there!" (Karen Burton Mains)