The Secret to a Joyful Life

People sometimes ask me what it is that makes me so joyful. And the simple and obvious answer is Jesus (which is true), but there are deeper rooted answers within that answer and one of those that I want to talk about is gratitude.

It’s no secret that American culture is so fixated on getting the things we want and being discontent until we get them. There’s always more to be had, more to do, more to be, more to get, that we forget to appreciate what’s in front of us and the things we have already obtained.

I think if we’re gonna have that mentality it would be of so much more value to target it into desperation to have more, do more, and get more of the presence of the Lord. The truth is, we get so caught up in meaningless things like how many followers or likes we have on Instagram, or whether or not we have the new iPhone, or if (God forbid) we wear the same outfit twice in one week, or whether we have the coolest pair of sneakers, or a lot of influential or well-known friends. Now it’s easy to read those things and think, “Duh, of course those don’t matter!” but if we really search deep down in our heart and evaluate why we do the things we do, I think we might be surprised what we find. 

Here’s a secret to living a life of abundant joy; choosing to be abundantly grateful.

Being in Africa I’ve come face to face with the fact that life is simple more than ever before. We make it so complicated. The “do more, get more, be more” mentality consumes us to the point of disappointment and depression if we don’t “have all, know all, do all” the things we want. 

Now it’s good to have goals, to achieve things, to go after things, but the heart behind it makes all the difference. I think if we really stopped to search our heart motives we’d realize that they’re often much more materialistic, vain, and selfish than we convince ourselves to think.

Guys, there’s more fullness in being content in the Lord than in anything else!

How does the person that lives in constant heat, that has no more than the outfit on their back, sleeps on a mat outside, and sells coconuts on the street have more joy than the average American?

They live a life of being grateful for what’s in front of them. They’re not so worried and consumed with what they don’t have and are overwhelmingly satisfied with what they do.

One thing I’ve learned since leaving is that I actually don’t even need any of the things I packed in my 45L backpack. I’ve gotten rid of quite a few things within the past months, and honestly my entire backpack could be gone and I would still go on living and have all I need.

Life is worth way more than the things we physically have, or even the knowledge and status that we achieve. Those things all fade away. What’s really of value is love, is communion with God, and communion with others. Those are things of eternal value, that can never fade, everything else is just a bonus.

I promise you in any and every scenario there are more things to be thankful for than you realize. If you have something, you have something to be thankful for.