“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
When we are full of the Spirit there is fruit that comes with it. One of those fruits is joy. But sometimes joy can be difficult to muster up and put on. After a very long traumatic season in my life, it was almost impossible for me to find joy in anything. All I could feel was weight. The weight from all the losses and the stress that was upon me. The enemy is real and he was stealing something from me. John 10:10, tells us that, “the thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jesus came to destroy the works of the enemy and to bring us life. Joy is a part of that life abundantly.
Through my recovery, my health coach would tell me to do a real good “belly laugh” every day. When she first said that to me, I really thought she was out of her mind. Not because I didn’t believe her. On the contrary, I knew she was right. I knew that laughter was a good thing and that it goes hand in hand with joy. It was just so hard for me to even think of laughing and felt like it would be impossible for me to have a good belly laugh.
Today, I am thankful to the Lord that I can laugh out loud. I can and do experience His joy and His life abundantly. And you can too! But it will take some work. I was at a luncheon and a very dear friend of mine was speaking and said, “sometimes you just have to fake that something is funny and laugh anyway”. She had all of us do a fun thing and had us laughing hysterically over things that really were not that funny. Sometimes you just have to put on the sacrifice of praise and sometimes you just have to put on some good old belly laughing. Scientists have proven that laughter increases the brain’s production of endorphins. Those endorphins are feel-good chemicals that relieve pain and reduce stress.
So, if you’re not feeling that “God” kind of joy. I encourage you to take some time out for yourself and let out a real good “belly laugh”. Laugh as often and as hard as you can. Rejoice in the Lord, always. Remember, the joy of the Lord is your strength! (Nehemiah 8:10)
Until next time,
Stay Calm and be Empowered
