Bring Me Back to JOY
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10, KJV: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10
I know this verse. I have heard it spoken and preached numerous times over the years. I always felt like I had a good handle on it and lived a life in (spiritual) abundance. It wasn’t until this past year, the past two years really, I realized that I wasn’t living all that abundantly. I allowed the standards and expectations of life, culture, and that I had placed on myself kill and destroy my joy. I was trying to stuff myself in the box. I didn’t create the walls of this box. They were built by others’ expectations and beliefs about success. I stuffed myself in the box because it felt safe. Living for someone else’s thoughts on what success looked like meant I didn’t have to put myself out there. All my hopes and dreams would never (potentially) fail because I was sitting in someone else’s box.
We commit to a dream, a stirring in our hearts, to move and do the thing we feel God is asking us to do. We know it to be true because most of the time when we create, we find joy. The process energizes us. From the moment the first idea pops in our head to completion, we experience joy. However, somewhere along the way the joy we started with starts to deteriorate. Just a little at a time. So sneaky. Enough not to notice until we find ourselves in a rhythm or forced hustle and the joy is gone.
It is time to get back to what sets our souls on fire. We need to find that thing, the process, the creation, the writing, whatever it is and let that have the lead part in this portion of our lives once again. This may take stripping down and letting go of some things we’ve picked up along the way. This can be scary. Many of those things we’ve picked up are the things that are supposed to help us become successful at our craft. Tools, advice, processes we’ve learned along the way that are meant to propel us forward in our craft. What we didn’t realize, though, was that every time we picked up a new tool or process, we had to set down some of our joy.
When we lose our joy in our craft, we lose a little bit of ourselves and thus, lose our audience. Working from a place of joy instead of hustle is contagious. Joy energizes our souls and gets us excited to complete the work before us.
Ask yourself:
Am I living abundantly in spirit while doing my craft?
What can I let go of so I can let some joy back in?
How have I overcomplicated the process?
What areas look like forced hustle and less joy? Or, what are some ways you know you will gravitate towards that will pull your joy away?
When God placed this passion project on your heart, he wanted you to do it because he knew it would bring you joy. He knows the complexities of your heart and inner workings. He knows what sets your soul on fire. That’s why he gave you this dream. He does not desire for your dream to lose its joy. So, how can you get back to joy today?