God on the Go: Feeling Joy

We’ve been talking about emotions that don’t always get a lot of attention, and today I want to talk about this feeling of joy. When you feel joy about something, it’s good for you all over… from the top of your head all the way to your feet. Joy is great medicine. It helps our lives come into color. It helps our bodies feel better, and it’s the way that God created us to live. Joy is such a beautiful emotion that God has given us to experience. Even when life throws curveballs, joy is still possible! 

What’s New!

Monday Story:

• Julie Lyles Carr – When McK was born and Madi kept laughing | Jesus filled with joy. Luke 10:21

Tuesday Key Verse:

• Proverbs 17:22 – A joyful heart is good medicine.

Wednesday Prayer:

• Dear God, thank you for joy, for the feeling of joy, for the good medicine that joy is! In the name of Jesus, amen.

Thursday Question:

• What is something that makes you feel joyful on a regular day?

Friday Fun Fact:

• Q: Is joy something you experience just in your heart?
• A. No! Joy helps protect you against illness and disease. People who say they are joyful and happy also have fewer aches and pains in their bodies.

Show Notes:

To get this week’s episode and daily text prompts, text the word Go to 89419.
If you are in Canada, text GodOnTheGo to 866-729-1065

Transcription:

When my husband and I got ready to have our second baby, we did something that was a little unusual when she was born. We decided to have our oldest child in the room with us when her baby sister was born, and it was such a sweet experience. Our oldest child went to classes about childbirth and she knew what to expect, and we had someone come in to help with her so she would have a great experience. A.nd so she got to be there when her baby sister was born And when her baby sister was born, oh my. My oldest daughter could not stop giggling. She giggled and laughed and giggled and laughed and giggled and laughed. She was so excited and the nurse who was with us said, of my daughter’s laughter and giggling, she said, that is pure joy right there.

This is got on the go, part of the Purposely Podcast Network. And I’m Julie Lyles Carr. We love helping you make the minutes matter when you are on the go. We’ve been talking about emotions that don’t always get a lot of attention. Things like feeling awkward or confused, things like being bored or things like being calm. And today I want to talk about this feeling of joy. Sometimes people say that joy and happiness are the same thing. Sometimes people say happiness and joy are different, but for today, let’s just talk about this feeling that comes over you. Sometimes joy is like riding a roller coaster. You’re having a great time with your family. It’s so big and you’re just filled with laughter, like my daughter was when her baby sister was born. Sometimes joy is quiet. It’s like looking around the dinner table at the people you love and just being so happy to be eating pizza on a random Tuesday night. Sometimes joy feels big. Sometimes it doesn’t feel quite as big, but it’s always this beautiful feeling that you experience when there’s just happiness. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s content. Sometimes it is just a sense of being really fulfilled. Joy is such a beautiful emotion that God has given us to experience.

Now, is joy something that you experience just in your heart, just a feeling that you have? Well, psychologists say that no, that joy actually helps us in a lot of ways when it even comes to our physical bodies. That joy can protect you against illness and disease. People who say they are joyful and happy also have fewer aches and pains in their bodies. So, joy is something that we experience completely, totally as people, not just in our hearts and our minds, but in our physical bodies as well, which is really amazing to me.

Jesus had many times that he felt joy and let’s not be confused. Jesus faced some really difficult things in his life here on earth when He was ministering here on earth. He had people who were mean to him. He had people who chased after him. He had people who were just kind of awful sometimes, and yet Jesus also found incredible joy during his time here on earth. There was this one time that Jesus sent out 72 helpers and he asked them to spread the good news. He wanted them to heal people who were sick. He wanted them to give people hope. Those 72 people went out and helped in this way, and then when they came back and they told Jesus about how awesome their experience had been, how they’d been able to help people, and how they’d been able to fight back against darkness, the Bible says that Jesus was filled with joy. He was so happy that people were helped, that people were able to see that the kingdom of God was going to be coming. It just made him so joyful. Jesus felt the emotion of joy, and that’s part of why we feel joy because he is our savior and he shows us the way to live. It makes me think about this verse in Proverbs chapter 17 in verse 22.

A joyful heart is good medicine.

When you feel joy about something, it’s good for you all over… from the top of your head all the way to your feet. Joy is great medicine. It helps our lives just come into color. It helps our bodies feel better, and it’s the way that God created us to live, which is to live with great joy because of everything that he has done for us.

I want to encourage you to text the word GO, that’s go to 8 9 4 1 9, and we’ll send you great discussion questions from today’s episode. We’ll send you the memory verse. We’ll send you other things that can help you as you continue these conversations about the emotions that we don’t often talk about, but that are really big. Emotions that God created for us. I’ll see you next time on God on the Go.