Finding Joy in the Journey of the Everyday

As a homeschool and stay-at-home parent some days begin to feel monotonous. Maybe even a little like the movie Groundhog's Day. Most days look like this:

Wake up.
My quiet devotional time.
Kids wake up.
Have breakfast.
Do devotions
Do chores.
Begin school lessons.
Have lunch.
Do more school lessons.
Exercise.
Do more chores.
Have free time.
Make Dinner.
Clean up.
Go to bed.
Then repeat.

It can be easy to lose joy in the journey of monotony and begin to define joy by my circumstances.

But what exactly is joy? Is it happiness? A feeling? An experience? If we look at it through a world view, particularly a western cultural view, then yes, joy is defined by our feelings of happiness and our experiences. However, as a Christian, I hold a Biblical worldview when I look at life. I look at the world through the lens of the Bible. When it comes to definitions of words, I go to where they were first used, which is in Scripture, instead of a western cultural definition.

So what is Biblical joy?

R.C. Sproul, founder of Ligonier Ministries helps explain what Biblical joy is through his free eBook Can I Have Joy in My Life. He states, “the Greek word used in the Beatitudes is best translated as blessed, as it communicates not only the idea of happiness but also profound peace, comfort, stability, and great joy. So, we have to be careful when we come to the text of the New Testament that we do not read it through the lens of the popular understanding of happiness and thus lose the biblical concept of joy.

R.C. goes on to say, “In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul speaks about joy and about the Christian’s duty to rejoice over and over again. For example, he writes, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’ (4:4a). This is one of those biblical imperatives, and it leaves no room for not rejoicing, for Paul says Christians are to rejoice always—not sometimes, periodically, or occasionally. He then adds, ‘Again I will say, Rejoice”’(v. 4b). Paul wrote this epistle from prison, and in it he addresses very somber matters, such as the possibility that he will be martyred, poured out as a sacrifice (2:17). Yet he tells the Philippian believers that they should rejoice despite his circumstances.”

Despite circumstances.

Having this perspective of TRUE joy helps reshape my thinking. It helps get my mind back on track. It helps turn my mind from my circumstances, my experiences of finding happiness, to remember that my joy does not lie in any of those things. It lies in Jesus. And for that, I rejoice!

R.C. Sproul explains it like this, “Paul gives us the key: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always.’ The key to the Christian’s joy is its source, which is the Lord. If Christ is in me and I am in Him, that relationship is not a sometimes experience. The Christian is always in the Lord and the Lord is always in the Christian, and that is always a reason for joy. Even if the Christian cannot rejoice in his circumstances, if he finds himself passing through pain, sorrow, or grief, he still can rejoice in Christ. We rejoice in the Lord, and since He never leaves us or forsakes us, we can rejoice always.”

So, when I get up, I rejoice. When we are having breakfast, I rejoice. Doing chores, our school lessons, repetitive experiences? Rejoice. Why? Because I am choosing to rejoice in the Lord always despite my circumstance and that truly brings an everlasting joy.