{"id":14286,"date":"2026-03-17T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=14286"},"modified":"2026-01-26T07:59:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T12:59:31","slug":"joyful-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/03\/17\/joyful-gratitude\/","title":{"rendered":"Joyful Gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t forget, the joy of the Lord is our strength,\u201d Jimmy said randomly at the end of our small group one night. We had finished our discussion on the week\u2019s sermon and prayed over prayer requests when our leader sent us off with these words. When I heard the phrase, I didn\u2019t realize it came from Nehemiah. As soon as I got home, I looked up the passage, and ever since, I quote the eight words every chance I get. Joy of the Lord comes from complete confidence in Him, no matter the situation, understanding that this life will pass quickly, but eternal life with the Lord will never end. We can face today\u2019s mountain because God will move it; nothing keeps us from His glory when we place our faith in the Savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joy remains when happiness flees. Because we choose God and trust His plan, even when we don\u2019t understand it, we can experience divine joy. Planning our first Joyful Heart Connections breakfast, we had a meeting a few days before. \u201cWell, we have a problem that we can\u2019t control; it\u2019s supposed to snow Saturday,\u201d Claire said as we began our time together. So focused on tasks for the event, I hadn\u2019t thought about the weather. Instant disappointment welled up within me. Then I thought, \u201cWell, if that\u2019s God\u2019s will, then I trust it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same storm hindered our vacation plans. Supposed to leave two days after the event, an unusual polar vortex sent ice across the southern United States and up the East Coast. No one went anywhere, and the Lord delayed our vacation for two days. Again, I thought, \u201cI trust God\u2019s will, He\u2019s protecting us from things we don\u2019t know.\u201d Instead of losing my joy, I trusted the Savior and had a lovely day at home, catching up on projects I needed to get done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord instructs us to \u201ccount it all joy\u201d when facing trials, viewing them as opportunities for growth. When we adopt a joyful mindset, we choose to focus our gaze on the Savior rather than our problems. In God\u2019s presence, we experience the fullness of joy. Divine joy comes from delighting in the Lord\u2019s goodness and secure hope in Him, rather than superficial emotions. Set your gaze above, align your heart and mind with the Savior, and gain strength from the joy you find in Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journal Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How would you define divine joy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describe the difference between joy in the Lord and happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has joy strengthened you in life\u2019s storms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Thank God for the strength you gain from His joy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two-minute read. \u201cDon\u2019t forget, the joy of the Lord is our strength,\u201d Jimmy said randomly at the end of our small group one night. We had finished our discussion on the week\u2019s sermon and prayed over prayer requests when our leader sent us off with these words. When I heard the phrase, I didn\u2019t realize… Continue reading Joyful Gratitude<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14286"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14291,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14286\/revisions\/14291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}