Practicing Joy

Cultivating a Heart That Thrives on God’s Goodness

By Jill Briscoe

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name” (Psalm 100:4).

Joy dies when we do not practice it. It’s produced by praise (or gratitude) glancing heavenward, feeling its soul begin to smile. Joy is Jesus—God in Galilean cloth, walking our earth, bearing our cross, burying our sin with Him and rising again to offer us life. For the joy that was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated on the Father’s right hand in glory (see Heb. 12:2). He is busy preparing a place for you and me and anyone who will thank and praise Him for His salvation. There is such joy in realizing we’re headed home—especially if our homes down here are hard and loveless places to be. Joy is first and foremost produced by praise.

Joy is produced by perseverance, too. We must deliberately joy in the journey, however dark the night or rough the road. That takes an act of the will—to reach out a hand to find Him and grasp His heavenly help, to seek in the dark until we see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. As we persevere, there is joy in finding our frantic spirit held in His arms.