Writing has always been a creative outlet for me, I wrote my first song at six years old. I attended a small elementary school and one year a new teacher was hired, named Mr. Coulihan. He was a musician and played guitar during class, which we thought was so cool! I told him about my songwriting, and he told some of the other teachers about it. I was in class just minding my own business one day, and a couple of teachers peeked their heads in the door and called me out of class (and yes, I thought I was in trouble). They explained that Mr. Coulihan had announced he was engaged to be married and they wanted to plan something special to congratulate him. They asked if I would write song lyrics for our music teacher to add music to. We would rehearse each day during music class, and once ready, we would all surprise Mr Coulihan with the song. I was so honored and excited!

I wrote a song titled “Paradise” which was so absurdly cheesy, my classmates and I still get a good laugh about it. Our class rehearsed it and finally the day arrived for us to surprise our teacher with the song. We gathered in the gym, and waited for him to be brought in. The gym doors opened, and as soon as the students saw him, we broke into song. He was very surprised, and I will always remember his joyful reaction as we performed.

My love for writing has continued over the years, and I am still an eager student. Last year I embarked on a journey as an entrepreneur and opened a business, so that I may have more flexibility for ministry work. All week I worked diligently to make sure all tasks were completed so I could shift gears back to my sermon prep as I was scheduled to preach on Sunday. I felt led to share a message about joy, although it’s a topic more commonly spoken of during the holidays. But joy is meant for us every day, not once a year.

I had everything perfectly arranged for sermon writing. Study bibles, notepads and a fresh cup of coffee in my grandma’s special mug “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” I was excited and ready to write on the topic of joy! And then I received a work-related text message. My immediate attention was required. Four hours and 80 miles later, all was resolved. It was a humorously-timed reminder that joy is deeper than our outside circumstances.

There will always be things that may threaten to disrupt our sense of joy; other people, work, finances, worry, insecurities, fear; the list goes on and on. But we must keep our focus on God. Joy is a fruit of the spirit, and it grows over time, as we mature in our faith. Our joy as Christians is deep-rooted in many things including our salvation from the redeeming work of Christ, knowing and remaining in God’s word, loving one another, and the hope and peace we have in Him. Joy is beautifully illustrated in 1 Peter 1:8, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,” When I am tempted to allow everyday problems to rattle my joy, I will instead focus on my faith in the sovereignty of God. In Phil 4:4, the Apostle Paul instructed the church in Phillipi, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Strangely, Paul was unjustly imprisoned at the time. And yet he rejoiced that the gospel was not only continuing, but actually being advanced as a result of his adverse circumstances. Paul kept a God-centered perspective. One of my new favorite scriptures came as a result of this joy study, from Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” I pray this message blesses each one of you.