How to Break the “Happiness Curse” and Embrace the Joy of the Lord: Part Two
When you embrace God’s joy, you can have a constant feeling of fulfillment even if your life is upside down.
Welcome to the 66th post of The Aim and Soar Life, a weekly newsletter about faith, personal growth, and lifestyle that provides actionable, relatable, and biblically rooted content to help you live abundantly and GROW YOU. GOD’S WAY.
Happy Sunday Fam!
For June we are Embracing Joy!
Have you ever been in a funk and didn’t feel happy? This post is for you.
Last week, I started us on the journey to rethinking “happiness.” In fact, I called it “The happiness curse.”
If you haven’t read part one in last week’s post, do yourself a favor and check it out. I promise you’ll be blessed by it. https://theaimandsoarlife.substack.com/p/how-to-break-the-happiness-curse
In the meantime, there are two definitions and two scriptures I want to share from part one just to bring you up to speed.
1. The Happiness Curse:
“The expectation that life will be what you desire or dream, and when it isn’t you become disenchanted and discouraged.”
2. Joy:
“Joy is the gladness one gains by having a relationship with God and abiding in Him.”
“For the joy of the Lord is your strength,” Nehemiah 8:10b,
“I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete,” John 15:11
Avoiding the Happiness Curse
To truly have peace in your life and break the happiness curse, you must pursue joy instead of happiness because happiness is temporary and dependent on external circumstances.
When you embrace God’s joy, you can have a constant feeling of fulfillment even if your life is upside down.
Below are a few things to help you on your journey.
Practical Ways to Embrace the Joy of the Lord
Begin with gratitude! (See part one)
Surrender to God’s plan.
Find joy in spiritual disciplines.
Serve others and spread joy.
Surrender to God’s Plan
Ever since I was a little girl around age 8, I dreamed of being a wife and a mom of four kids! 😍That’s all I wanted. I went to college because I had to (LOL). But I always dreamed of being a housewife and homemaker.
To me, that was the ultimate life. I thought I would be baking cookies and doing craft projects with my kids all day long. I had little desire to do anything else except write.
I was blessed to have gotten married and have a son at age 25. But a few short years later, it all came tumbling down. My marriage ended in infidelity and a heap of lies. My life was turned upside down in a matter of months. Everything I had prayed for went up in flames.
Here I am 23 years later, still unmarried.
For years, I longed to be married and have a happily ever after. And let me tell you, in my waiting for prince charming, I kissed a few frogs😳. Yuck!😂
Some years I cried. In other years, I was angry at God. Then I became fearful, which caused me to make terrible decisions like staying in relationships that had no way of being successful.😩
I saw my dreams fade away as each year passed. When I neared the age of 42, I realized I probably would never have any more children.
At the age of 47, I began to realize that I may never marry again. That was crushing. All I could think about was being alone for the rest of my life; I didn’t want that for myself. Nope. That wasn’t the life I ordered.
Now as a mid-lifer, and someone who has grown in my faith, I have made peace with God’s will—whatever that may be.
I had to learn to surrender my wants and needs and give them to God. This doesn’t mean that it is easy. It’s not.
I remind myself that God loves me and wants the best for me, and I pray daily to surrender to His will.
God has a plan for your life. It doesn’t always look like your plan. As a matter of fact, it may look nothing like your plan. This can be hurtful and cause you to feel like God is not being fair or doesn’t want you to be “happy.”
I can assure you that this isn’t true. God sees your life from beginning to end. He knows the thoughts you think, and He knows what everyone else around you is thinking. He knows how a matter will end. He makes decisions about your life based on His infinite knowledge.
We have limited knowledge, and we make decisions based on our limitations. God is directing your life based on what’s best for you.
Surrender daily just like Jesus did.
42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Luke 22:42, NKJV
It takes strength and courage to trust God. Most of all it takes faith. Embrace His joy by embracing your faith.
More to come next week!
Peace and Love
Until Next Time,
GROW YOU. GOD’S WAY.
Sherrhonda😍
P.S.
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