George Foster

Joy is found in Jesus when we rejoice in Him. We can rejoice our way to joy!

Worry is common, it's not good for us, it accomplishes little, and it dishonors the God who cares for us. Worry may be our most enduring form of unbelief.

Feelings are involuntary reactions, so God does not say, "Feel joy." He says, "Rejoice!" It's a choice.

How do we handle feelings? What significance should we attach to them? If we want to keep our feelings from deceiving and defeating us, we must make some tough choices in our lives. We must trust God to keep our feelings under His control. We must make a choice to rejoice, and we must do it constantly. Feelings go where our thoughts and choices take them. So we can have confidence that God will use our choice and release to us the feelings that we need.

Christians know that joy is more than a feeling or an on-again, off-again sentiment that changes according to the circumstances they face. Followers of Jesus Christ distinguish between lasting joy and situational happiness. Fun and joy are not necessarily synonymous. We believe we can experience inner joy with no special external stimulus to make us happy.

Choose joy! Joy is a choice. Joy is a witness. Joy is a therapy. Joy is a habit. If Jesus, who drank so deeply of the world's sorrow, could be filled with so much fun and laughter, then so can I.

Like other spiritual fruit, joy must be cultivated.