Seeking and Finding Joy Every Day
What are you hunting?
My husband loves to hunt for deer. To hone his skills, he watches hunting shows, listens to hunting podcasts, and spends a tremendous amount of time in the woods. This all helps him get to know his target better and improve his chances of a successful hunt.
I promise this post is not about being a deer hunter; however, it is about is hunting. Not the kind of hunting that requires a gun or a bow but the kind of hunting we do inside our minds that create thoughts that we experience.
Our minds are always on the hunt for something. This can be a wonderful thing when under control or could suck the life out of us if left unattended. Today, I will give a high-level overview of the much deeper topic of managing our mind and I will bring more posts on that in the future. For today’s purpose, we are going to chat about having a successful hunt for joy.
This is a topic I enjoy researching and am excited to share some insights with you. Let’s first look at what the bible says about our thoughts and how we are to direct them. In Philippians 4:8, Paul tells us to think on things that are:
- Noble
- Right
- Pure
- Lovely
- Admirable
- Excellent
- Praiseworthy
How do you measure up when you take a peek at your thoughts? If you wrote down all that you were thinking, would all of the thoughts fall into these categories? Mine don’t and I am guessing you may have a few that fall outside of these as well.
Paul’s list is certainly ideal and something to work towards; however, it is important to identify what we are currently hunting. Knowing what we are hunting for, gives us a clue as to what we will find. For example, if I am hunting for disobedience from my children, I will find it. On the flipside, if I am hunting for tenderness from my children, I will find that too.
Our brains are incredibly powerful and God gave us the ability to manage them. The caveat is that we must rein them in and show them who is the boss.
Focus on Your Target
Did you know you were the boss of your thoughts? You are! By keeping our thoughts in-check we can better hunt for what we want more of. If we want more joy, we must set our focus on finding it. Deer hunters cannot be successful from the comfort of the couch. They have to rise early and meet the deer in the woods. As for us, we must find joy and capture it.
It is easier to grab onto the negative things in life because they demand our attention and action. Our brains are, unfortunately, designed to seek solutions to problems and not relish in contentment. It is so easy to get into the habit of missing the joys of life amidst all of the problems we need to solve.
Our source of joy cannot be in temporary things like emotions. Our emotions fluctuate just like those of our spouse and children. Our joy must come from a never-changing source, God.
We can find encouragement in a blessing Paul sent to the Romans. He said in Romans 15:13:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Wouldn’t you love to be filled to overflowing with joy and peace? Who around you could benefit from an overflow of your joy and peace rather than an empty cup? Those closest to us could drink in the spilling over of hope from our abundance. Alright, I’m in! Now where do I get this joy you speak of, Paul?
Joy can be a mysterious and often illusive emotion. As we search for this in our lives, it can be as difficult to locate as Big Foot. What if I told you that you are already surrounded by joy? It’s true, you are. The trick is not creating or manufacturing joy, its hunting for it. They key is focusing your eyes to see it, opening your heart to feel it, and training your brain to seek it daily.
Start the Hunt
As hunters of joy, we must discover what gives us that feeling. What is going on? Who is around? Where is this taking place? The beauty of joy is that it is different for each person. As a new hunter, you must get to know your target. In this case, the target is joy and we are going to train ourselves to hunt it down every day.
How you begin to discover the joy in your life is to be intentional about hunting for it. Tell yourself each morning, “Joy is here today and I can’t wait to find it!” During your days, become more aware of how you are feeling.
For me, joy shows up when my family and I are on a hike near our house. We are outside and our girls can run and scream as much as they want. My husband leads the way and I can be the caboose. I love to stay back and watch my family soak up nature and play in the sun. That is when I tell myself “This!! I found you, joy! I want more of this!” I put a placeholder in my brain that will help me seek that more in my days. I tell my brain “This is the feeling I want more of. Help me to find this everyday”.
Hunting is not for the fickle or faint. Being on a hunt requires determination and focus. The weather could be unpredictable, and the sitting conditions may not be favorable; however, the moment that makes it all worth any distress is having the target in your crosshairs.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1 it says “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven”.
Joy season is in and now you, my friend, must go hunt!
To help you get into the hunter’s frame of mind, I have included a prayer and some affirmations for you that you can use each morning to set your hunting intentions for the day.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the amazing gifts you give to those who love You. Please help me to see and rejoice in your blessings. I want to be a mama who overflows with joy so my family and others around me reap the benefits of your blessings too. Amen.
Morning affirmations:
Joy is everywhere, I only need to seek it.
My life is full of joy exactly how it is.
The more joy I seek, the more joy I will find.