Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

  • Home
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Policies
  • Contact

Joy – Let’s Break it Down

May 19, 2023 by Lauren 6 Comments

break it downLast week I told you that I was nothing if not current.  So today I’m exploring Grace and Truth’s own Lisa Burgess’ exercise on finding the twins and opposites of my word for the year.  If you are new around here (yay! and welcome), I chose JOY as my one word for 2023.  After an extremely tough few years I am ready to lighten up.  And so many of you responded and resonated with my feelings and my word.  So I continue to share what God is showing me in case you could use some joy in your life.  Let’s break it down.

 

Definition

 

Joy noun – 1.  a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.  2.  the emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.  3.  a state of happiness or felicity  4.  a source or cause of delight.  verb – 1.  to experience great pleasure or delight.

 

Synonyms (or Twins)

delight, gaity, bliss, rejoice, gladden, enjoy, jubilation, triumph, exaltation, glee, exhilaration, ebullience, exuberance, elation, euphoria, ecstacy, rapture, radiance, enjoyment, gratification, pleasure, treat, thrill, jocundity, celebrate, cheer, revel, make merry.

 

Antonyms (or Opposites)

sadness, sorry, anguish, misery, calamity, agony, unhappiness, wretchedness, woe, melancholy, desolation, gloom, depression, blues, despondency, doldrums, disheartenment, dispiritedness, gloominess, purgatory, Gehenna, hell, mournfulness, downheartedness, regret, lament, weep, grieve, bemoan.

 

Breaking it Down

Before that last list puts us all firmly in the doldrums, let’s move onto my insights.  First I want to point out the second definition of “joy”, “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.”  That’s a worldy definition of a biblical concept if I’ve ever seen one.  And one of the twins of “joy” I found is “triumph”.  When I saw this I immediately thought of the DJ Kaled (featuring several other artists) lyrics, “All I do is win, win, win no matter what.”

As followers of Jesus, we have to dispel the myth that joy is only for those on top of the world.  It has been well documented that the more we have, the more we want.  So does anybody really possess what they desire?  For the long haul?  Come on.  No one can always win.  On the opposite spectrum, hell is listed as an antonym of joy.  Now that is telling.  As believers in Jesus we are as far from hell as it gets.  And joy is also as far from hell as it gets.  Joy can be ours because hell never will be.`

The Nitty Gritty

So how do we have joy in the midst of the calamity, sorrow and misery me all experience?  First of all, let me say that it is good and healthy to mourn, grieve and lament.  It is those who believe Christians should never be sad that are headed for emotional turmoil.  When we constantly suppress negative feelings, we become a time bomb that will eventually explode.  God made all emotions for us to experience and process.  He cares about them all and wants us to bring them all to Him.  We must deal with our hard things to ever experience true joy.  Refusing to deal means not letting ourselves heal.

One of my verses for the year is Romans 15:13.  “May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope and by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  The more of our stuff – good and bad – that we entrust to God, the more joyful and peace-filled we will be.  Easy to say, often hard to do.  That’s why it takes practice.  Discipline is a key component of our faith.  Not just the discipline to pray, read our bible, go to church and fast.  But also the discipline to submit our stuff to God over and over and over again.

 

The Last Question

If I had to use one of the synonyms of joy as a backup word, I would choose “delight”.  It immediately made me think of Psalm 37:4.  “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”  Sounds like joy!

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Unfortunately, Michelle Bengtson’s Adult Children:  How to Parent When They Choose a Different Path hits me in my current need.  Maybe it will be helpful to you too.

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Christian, Grace & Truth Link Up, joy, One Word, Word of the Year

Comments

  1. Tammy L Kennington says

    May 19, 2023 at 1:40 pm

    Lauren,
    These words resonated deeply–“The more of our stuff – good and bad – that we entrust to God, the more joyful and peace-filled we will be.” Beautiful!

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      May 19, 2023 at 1:53 pm

      Thanks so much for reading, Tammy.

      Reply
  2. Paula Short says

    May 19, 2023 at 7:38 pm

    Lauren, I love your examination of your woty 2023 Joy. I enjoy hearing about your Joy journey.
    Visiting today from G&T.

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      May 22, 2023 at 5:13 pm

      I’m so glad. I hope its beneficial to you!

      Reply
  3. Lisa notes says

    May 25, 2023 at 10:32 am

    So true, Lauren–> “We have to dispel the myth that joy is only for those on top of the world.” We often fall for that lie, that everything has to be perfect before we’re allowed to be truly joyful. I’ve discovered that my joy is often mixed in with heavy doses of grief and longing and many other emotions, all at the same time. We can feel more than one thing at once, and it’s good when joy is in that mix too!

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      May 26, 2023 at 2:01 pm

      Such a good point, Lisa. Holding multiple feelings at the same time is something God is really teaching me right now. Thank you for adding that to the conversation.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
Read More

Subscribe for Updates

Enter your information below to receive the latest updates from the blog!

Recent Posts

  • First Friday Prayers: 3 John 4
  • May Had No Margin!
  • Joy – Let’s Break it Down
  • What Are the Rumble Strips in Your Life?
  • First Friday Prayers: Words for the Graduates

Find Devotionals By Me in These Books and Click on Image for Order Information!

A 25-Week Bible Study with Topics from Abide to Zeal
A 26 week journey to a better prayer life.
30 devotionals for faith that moves mountains

For Sharing

Lauren Sparks

Like Podcasts? I’m on This One

…and This One! click to listen.

Click below to get a free trial of my favorite technology monitoring platform

Need More Than Just Monitoring? Find Filters and Accountability Here

Search This Site

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 Lauren Sparks | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM

Stop!  Don't Miss Out!

I have a brand new e-book.  This was Not On My Bingo Card:  Essays on Cancer and Related Surprises is available to you FREE by simply subscribing to my blog!  

Invalid email address
I promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!