God has filled our family with joy and laughter. We love laughing together and we thank God often for having a sense of humor. God wants to see each of us happy and joyful. In the Disney movie Monsters Inc. the premise is that there is power in fear. By the end of the movie however, the realization is that there is more power in laughter and being happy. Our bodies are made to worship and be joyful in Christ.

Proverbs 17:22 gives us wisdom to have a merry heart which is healing. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” While eating right, exercising and fitness are good for our bodies, having a merry heart is even more important. Spiritual factors are more important than physical factors in our quality and length of life.

In Nehemiah 8:10 – Nehemiah and Ezra tell the priests to eat the fat of their own meat and drink something sweet to celebrate the reading of God’s Word. The fat was considered the best part of the meat. That is why the Lord had them remove the fat from their sacrifices and give it to Him. The fat belonged to the Lord. On this day however they were celebrating the reading of God’s Word. The Word gives us cause for joy, laughter and celebration.

It is easy to be joyful when we have something to look forward to like a vacation, graduation, promotion, marriage, new house, new baby, but can how can we be joyful when our circumstances are anything but happy? How can we remain joyful when we live in a negative world where many negative things vie for our attention?

Let’s review Joshua 1:9—Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

God is telling Joshua to be strong and of good courage and not to be afraid or dismayed. These are opposing forces. If you are afraid and dismayed, then you are not strong and of good courage. They counteract each other. Here, God is telling us we have to “do” two things and we have to “resist” two things.

The Lord doesn’t automatically do these things for us—He flows through us. If you get discouraged or dismayed, you stop the process.

It says in Ephesians 3:20 – Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

We must stand on the Word of God and His promises until we are encouraged and it works. Don’t quit! Peter is a good example of what happens when we take our eyes off Jesus and His Word.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me – Matthew 14:28-30.

As soon as Peter took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the stormy sea, he began to sink. His focus changed. Instead of focusing on the promise of Jesus—His command to come—Peter focused on the circumstances, and that is why he began to sink.

If you can maintain your focus on Jesus and His Word in the midst of a storm, you can walk on the water of circumstance. When the doctor says you have a sickness or disease, your boss tells you you’re being laid off, or your spouse says they’re leaving, you can still stay positive. It will take a deliberate effort, but it is absolutely crucial.

Isaiah 26:3 that the Lord will “keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed” upon Him because he trusts in Him. Our peace is linked directly to what we think. We need to unplug from the world and plug into Jesus 24/7. 

Every day make the choice to choose Joy!