When You Are Struggling to Find Joy

When You Are Struggling to Find Joy

The other day I was walking on the treadmill in my garage. The winter weather was making me chilly, but I decided I would push myself a little harder. As every five minutes went by I pushed higher on the incline and higher on the speed. Over a period of thirty minutes, I was walking very briskly at a very steep outline.

The problem? I wasn’t going anywhere. I was stuck in my garage looking at the dust on the top of the shelf. Although the treadmill said I walked almost two miles, I honestly never left my house.

I got this notebook the other day at Staples. My daughter was looking for a new sketchbook and I saw this cover. My heart immediately knew I needed it. For seven months now I’ve been sad—just a lingering sadness in people, events, and life in general. I felt like my emotions were on a treadmill. The Lord has been prompting my heart to start pursuing JOY again. Not happiness….but JOY.

So when I saw this notebook (even though I do not need another notebook) I knew it was an invitation to start studying. I sat down that day and did a word search on BibleGateway.com. I typed in “Joy.” Then, I wrote down a list of verse references from Psalms and the New Testament.

For the next few days (weeks?) I’ll be looking up each verse and writing down the principles, stories, and truths about joy. Will that automatically bring me joy? Maybe. Will it connect me to the Source of Joy, God? Absolutely!

Reading and studying the Bible won’t automatically bring us the feelings we want to have, but it will change our mindset.

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I’m not saying that just reading the Bible and studying automatically brings us the feelings we want to have, but it does change our mindset. If my mind is constantly stuck in the cycle of sadness, it’s time I step off the treadmill.

Join Our Community

If you need someone to walk along with you to find joy, join me in the Let’s Read the Bible Group! In our group, we meet once a month to talk about life and the Bible. We have a private Facebook group to share prayer requests.

This coming month the new study is for the Book of Micah. We have a twenty-eight-page workbook with two teaching videos. OR you can join us here and choose from any of these topics:

Book of Matthew
Book of Mark
Book of Philippians
Book of Ruth
Book of Judges
Book of Nehemiah
Book of Ezra
Book of Esther
Book of James
Books of 1,2,3 John
Light Breaks Through (Christmas)
New Year, New Mercies – Our New Life in Christ
Hesed, God’s Covenant-Keeping Love

The course is designed especially for busy moms who feel overwhelmed. They are easy to use and go at your own pace!

Join here!

The changes that come when you begin to read and study God’s Word and apply it to your life are powerful:

Even when everything goes wrong, you have a steady peace
Even when confusing and frustrating situations arise, there’s wisdom at your fingertips to search through for answers
You gain confidence in who God is and what He says because you can read and understand it
and that’s just the beginning…it’s amazing what God does when you begin to hide His word in your heart.

That’s why I’ve compiled my years of study into this easy-to-use guide, walking you through studying a book of the Bible.

You’ll be able to do that deeper studying and gain that greater understanding you’ve been longing for, even in the middle of whatever crazy season you’re in.