I’ve often heard it said that love is not a feeling, it is a decision. In other words, I can choose to love someone or not, regardless of how I feel about them. Jesus said we are missing something vital if we only love those who love us (Luke 6:32).
I think some other “feelings” might also be best thought of as “decisions”. Take joy for instance. I can allow life’s circumstances to determine my joy (or lack of it), or I can choose to be joyful regardless of my circumstances. The former puts my joy at the mercy of the moment. The latter puts my joy at the mercy of my attitude.
But how can I choose to be joyful? Only one way: We can be joyful because of God.
I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. Psalms 9:2 (NLT)
I love the phrasing in this verse. It says “I will be filled with joy”. It doesn’t say “I am filled with joy”, but implies that a the writer is making a decision to be filled with joy. What is it that makes the writer choose joy? If you read the rest of the Psalm, you’ll see that the writer just experienced victory in battle. But I don’t think his joy came from the victory. According to the verse, it is because of God that he will be filled with joy.
Finally, how does the writer express his joy? OUT LOUD! The writer is going to sing praises to God. He is going to tell people about it.
Here are my goals for today:
- To make the decision to be filled with joy simply because of God.
- To praise God for that joy.
- To tell people about that joy.
Some other verses that imply that joy is a choice include Philippians 2:17; Philippians 4:4; James 1:2.
