Where's Your Joy? | Pastor Steven Furtick

joy is a point of view joy is a way of looking at things this helps me I'm about you but it sets me free from feeling the need to feel a certain way we got so many people quitting their jobs because they're unhappy and not really understanding that sometimes joy is not the absence of sadness or the presence of the spectacular and all we need to look at is that one verse where it says that Jesus for the joy that was set before him I want to use that as a picture for a moment he

set Jay before him so in order to endure the cross that's the next part enduring the cross scorning its shame he didn't find joy in the event he found joy in the guaranteed outcome of the event he did not find joy in the feeling of hanging on the cross it wasn't like because he was the son of God that the nails you know transcended the laws of pain and the material laws of the universe it was just as painful but because of purpose you understand it's very different to go through pain with purpose than pain

without purpose it's the difference between Graham jumping on my back he's only 90 pounds and me not knowing that he's gonna jump on my back and me feeling like every disc just slipped like I'm 73 years old in my lower back and the difference between me putting 90 pounds on a bar to squat it if I do it on purpose it's a warm-up weight if I don't expect it it might take me down to the ground same way but when I was ready for when Jesus hung on the cross he wasn't surprised by the shame

he wasn't surprised by the suffering he wasn't surprised by the pain he wasn't surprised by the jeering he wasn't surprised by their saliva he wasn't surprised by the blood joy is a a focus before it's a feeling if you came to church just to hear that I promise you got your gas money's worth joy is a focus before it's a feeling and so while we're chasing a feeling called joy God has given us the ability to choose not our feelings you ever tried to choose joy I saw it on Pinterest I tried it it sucked

it didn't work then I felt guilty because I couldn't find joy and it made me feel less joy so now I'm in a joyless pit of joylessness in a cyclical joylessness and shame it's the difference between choice and consequence enjoying is a choice really because some of the trials that people go through are actual mental illness and it's kind of hard for them to just feel happy cuz they got a good parking space and no matter how much you tell them to feel happy be happy you know be happy feel happy count your blessings James

doesn't say count your blessings this isn't a nursery rhyme it's a bible scripture he said count it all joy he said learn how to flip you might not know this statement but uh there's a there's a statement in in financial terms it's a it's an income statement it's um it is it's got your your income on one side your expenses on another James says if you can learn to put some of the stuff in the income column that you thought was an expense some of the stuff in the blessing column that you thought was a

burden if you can flip the flow you actually have more joy than you're aware of but you're not gonna get it by praying for a feeling you're going to get it by making choices joy is not a choice in fact the worst way that I can get more joy is to focus on getting more joy the best way to stop being happy is to ask yourself the question am i happy and see I don't remember my grandparents ever talking about this if they did I don't remember it I never remember my grandmother my grandfather talking

about are we really happy they didn't think like that there weren't feeds and scrolling there wasn't there wasn't all this other stuff to make them feel unhappy at a moment's notice there there wasn't there wasn't an infinite supply of unhappiness in their pocket in the form of a device they'd have that so they focused on something else what was it what is it that that that brings joy if I focus on it I know what it's not it's not looking around how are they doing what do they think where they going vacation yeah where's your

digging where's it going up what's she wearing when she is Oh Rosa what do they think about me no that's not good do it he said for the joy set before him so I can't be looking all around and expecting to have joy I can't be judging my situation according to other people's calling and expect to have joy I can't be judging my gift compared to other people's talent and expect to have joy I know it's so cliche cuz we say it every week but nothing destroys joy like comparison the life you've got some of

you would be so enjoyable if only you didn't do this while you were living it if only you didn't do this I mean it's hurting my neck just to do it to illustrate to you imagine what it's doing to your soul you can't have joy that way it is destroying your joy you're praying for more joy and yet you are destroying the joy God has given you the joy of your salvation the joy of your calling the joy of your assignment God give me more joy well it's a decision not to have joy that's the

worst way to get joy the the decision of what I'm gonna focus on hey thank you for watching make sure you subscribe to this channel so you don't miss a single video or livestream and share this video with a friend and don't forget you can join me live every Sunday thanks again for watching