Infected with Joy By Matt Fore

3 Easy Ways to Be Infected with Joy

Smiles are rare these days but if there were a time you might expect to see them, it would be during the vacation season. Yet families trudge through with frowns almost as if they were at work and school.

Back at home, the stern expression of time pressure captures the face of nearly everyone at the department store, the bank, the post office and, yes, even the church.

And then there’s the oddball. She’s the lady that stands in a long line at the airport, surrounded by complainers as if they didn’t exist. She smiles sweetly at the employee who breaks the news that her flight was cancelled. He’s the man that works the same mundane job year after year and whistles a happy tune even when no one is listening.

What’s wrong with these people? Don’t they know the world is falling apart? Do they miss the breaking news every hour and on the half? There is one possibility.  They may be infected with “Joy,” a rare condition found in a small segment of Christians.

Unlike most mental and spiritual conditions, joy is useful to help manage all the negative situations of life and its secret in is the production of a mysterious strength. You too can be infected. Here are three easy ways to help guarantee your own personal infusion of joy.

Say It Out Loud

Words spoken out loud have a powerful impact. They travel from your lips to your ears and into your emotions. Positive affirmations are a common tool of the highly successful and are used daily to create confidence and drive.

But what if you spoke, out loud, the words of God over your life?

It may be true that you got behind on your mortgage, you received a questionable medical report, your dog ran away and you got news that your mother in law is moving in “Temporarily.” Life is taking a turn for the worse.

But when the sounds of praise and provision ring out continuously then what’s “True” will be overcome by ‘The Truth.”

” And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Scriptures that address a specific issue, spoken in faith, out loud and consistently, will not only tap into the emotions but into the very resource that is God Himself. Such a power infused faith could heal a disease, tap into new resources, bring a dog back home and, unfortunately, keep your mother in law around indefinitely.

Give Something Away

You’ve probably heard my little saying, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”  Or maybe Jesus said that in Acts 20:35.

The point is, there is an area in the brain that generates a sense of pleasure when you give. Scientifically, this area is known as the “Gizmo.” It seems, at least this time, that God’s word was ahead of medical science.

Have you ever noticed how excited people get when they give gifts? “Open it!”  It’s difficult to match their enthusiasm even when you receive the lighted electric reindeer sweater you had recurring dreams about. Giving is just fun.

You may not be able to give a million dollars to save the dolphins in the jungles of Africa but you can give a word of encouragement. You can give an unusually large tip to a needy waitress or bring a treat to a hard working co-worker. You have to start somewhere.

Giving creates a sense of joy. Employ it wherever you can.

Get With It

A looming problem can be a thief of joy but it’s amazing how much optimism is released at the first action to overcome it.

Solutions often require co-operation. Getting out of debt, for example, might require sacrifice, training and that socially unacceptable term, “Budgeting.” Weight loss and six pack abs don’t come from your devotional time unless you pray long prayers while doing sit ups.

There is a time, in utter dependence, to quietly wait in faith. And there is a time to be aggressive, even angry about the muck and mire with which the enemy attempts to burden you.

It takes faith to step out and attack a problem greater than yourself but that’s often where you find God waiting to move.

You too can be infected with joy but, unlike a distressing virus, joy refuses to invade without your permission. It has to be contracted on purpose and, in that, you have much control.

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Matt Fore is a humorist, speaker and comedy magician who serves as the main stage performer for corporate as well as Christian conferences and Churches around the country as he has for the past twenty five years. To learn more visit Matt’s website!

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