Choosing Joy: A 52-Week Devotional for Discovering True Happiness

A NOTE FROM ANGELA

Hello, my friends,

I am so grateful to welcome you to this year-long devotional, Choosing Joy. I’ve been praying for you as I have studied and written. I am asking God to meet you in the words of these pages to give you fresh encouragement and strength. As far as I can tell, we are some of the busiest people on the planet, in the busiest days any generation has ever known. And if there was ever a time we needed to intentionally choose joy, it’s now. . . .

May this be the year that God supernaturally transforms your heart. May these days of study radically change your very nature. God has promised that His Word will not return void. Your commitment to learn from these small studies centered on joy will not leave you the same. . . .

And so, dear one, let this new year of joy begin in your life and mine.

—Angela Thomas

ANGELA THOMAS, a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, is a sought-after speaker, well-known teacher, and bestselling author of more than fifteen books. Angela’s powerful Bible teaching and gift of story inspire thousands of women each year. She speaks at national conferences, church events, and through the DVD Bible studies that she has written and filmed with LifeWay. Angela lives in North Carolina with her husband and four children.

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COPYRIGHT © 2011 SIMON & SCHUSTER

JOY

IS YOURS FOR THE CHOOSING

DO YOU WANT to live every day with joy? Do you want to feel delighted with your life and alive with happiness? Joy is yours for the choosing.

Joy is one of the life-enriching gifts God has for you. He longs for you to be filled and satisfied—not just with a taste of joy, but with a joy that transforms you from the inside out. As author and Bible teacher Angela Thomas tells us, joy must be pursued.

With her trademark authenticity and girlfriend style, Angela shares biblical teaching, vivid storytelling, encouraging quotes, and Scriptures for meditation. Each week has bite-size messages for Monday through Thursday, then a special encouragement to help you through the weekend.

As you walk with Angela through this 52-week journey of faith, you will discover all the joy God has for you.

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CHOOSING JOY

Copyright © 2011 by Angela Thomas

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Howard Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thomas, Angela.

       Choosing joy / Angela Thomas.

     p. cm.

     1. Joy—Biblical teaching. 2. Joy—Religious aspects—Christianity—Textbooks. I. Title.

BS680.J6T46      2011

241’.4—dc23

2011033580

ISBN 978-1-4391-6581-2

ISBN 978-1-4516-2887-6 (ebook)

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica US, Inc.® Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. Scripture marked The Message are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NCV are quoted from the Holy Bible, New Century Version, copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, Nashville, Tennessee. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked AMP are from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked GNT are from the Good News Translation, Copyright © 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992 American Bible Society. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked ASV are from the American Standard Version, Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1901. Public domain in the United States.

For

Joe Thomas

I love you, Daddy.

Thank you for always choosing joy.

Contents

Introduction

Joy . . .                  Key Passage(s)

Week 1 For the Glory of God

Psalm 43:4

2 Corinthians 1:24

Week 2 Always

1 Thessalonians 5:16

Week 3 Defined

Psalm 16:11

Week 4 What Has Happened?

Galatians 4:15

Week 5 Restored

Psalm 51:12

Jude 24–25 22

Week 6 Given by God

Ecclesiastes 2:26

Psalm 4:7 27

Week 7 Was Born

Luke 2:10–11 33

Week 8 Is the Good News of Salvation

Isaiah 61:10

Week 9 Is a Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22–23 45

Week 10 Comes from Understanding God’s Word

Jeremiah 15:16

John 17:13

Week 11 Is Promised to Christ Followers

Psalm 132:16

Isaiah 35:10

Week 12 In the Presence of God

Psalm 16:9–11

Week 13 Is Not Found in Things

Ecclesiastes 2:10–11

Week 14 For the Peacemakers

Proverbs 12:20

Matthew 5:9

Week 15 In Between

Romans 15:13

Week 16 In Doing Right

Proverbs 21:15

Micah 6:8

Week 17 For the Rescued

Colossians 1:11,13

Luke 10:17

Week 18 In Spite of Evil

Proverbs 12:20

Week 19 From Generation to Generation

Psalm 145:4

Deuteronomy 6:4–9

Week 20 Instead of Despair

Isaiah 61:1–3

Week 21 In the Waiting Room

Psalm 63:6–8

Week 22 In Surrender

Psalm 37:4–5

Week 23 In Becoming Wise

Proverbs 15:23

Week 24 Through Forgiveness

Psalm 51:12

Week 25 When Everything Is Gone

Habakkuk 3:17–18

Week 26 In Worship

Psalm 100:2

Psalm 149:1–5

Week 27 In Affliction

Romans 12:12 146

Week 28 In the Holy Spirit

Romans 14:17

Luke 10:21 152

Week 29 Because of Heaven

Luke 10:20

Matthew 5:12 158

Week 30 When You Are Waiting

2 Chronicles 20:21,27

Week 31 Instead of Bitterness

Lamentations 3:19–23

Week 32 Serving Others

Philippians 2:1–5

Week 33 In God’s Comfort

Psalm 94:18–19

1 Peter 5:7 181

Week 34 Without Delay

Psalm 68:3

Week 35 While the Storms Rage

Isaiah 12:2–4

Week 36 When We Celebrate Believing

Acts 16:29–34 199

Week 37 In the Hope of God

Romans 12:12

Week 38 When You Are Ridiculed

Acts 5:41–42

Romans 12:14 209

Week 39 In Abiding

John 15:9–11

Week 40 In Our Trials

James 1:2–4

Week 41 In Generosity

2 Corinthians 8:2

Week 42 In Gratitude

Isaiah 12:3

Week 43 In Faithful Work

Matthew 25:21

Week 44 In Friendship and Hospitality

Acts 2:46 242

Week 45 In the Mundane

Psalm 32:11

Philippians 4:4 247

Week 46 When You Are Weak

Nehemiah 8:10

Week 47 In Obedience

Psalm 119:14

John 14:21 258

Week 48 In Knowing God More

Psalm 19:8

Week 49 In the Kingdom

Matthew 13:44

Matthew 6:33 268

Week 50 In Sorrow

2 Corinthians 6:10

Week 51 In Response to Our Blessings

Psalm 126 279

Week 52 So That I Bear Fruit

Galatians 5:16

Galatians 5:22–23

John 15:16 285

Acknowledgments

Notes

Introduction

Hello, my friends, I am so grateful to welcome you to this year-long devotional, Choosing Joy. I have been praying for you as I have studied and written. I am asking God to meet you in the words of these pages to give you fresh encouragement and strength. As far as I can tell, we are some of the busiest people on the planet, in the busiest days any generation has ever known. And if there was ever a time we needed to intentionally choose joy, it’s now.

For that very reason, we’ve designed this year of Choosing Joy into bite-size morsels. On Mondays, I’ll introduce a new Bible passage and new study-focus for that week. The next four days will take the focus a little deeper and wider. Each day is meant to be small enough to fit into your crowded life, but sturdy enough to challenge you spiritually. We’ve included lines for each day (I love lines!) because we’d love for you to take the time to apply these short truths to your everyday life. We’ve even added some extra journaling pages at the back of the book for those days when your words just overflow.

I really want to encourage you to write. I believe that in your actual writing and praying, God is going to do so much more than I could ever do. If you’re afraid of someone reading your pages, then write in code! Or draw pictures. Or just write enough to remind yourself how God is speaking to your heart. Sometimes the very process of putting your thoughts down on paper is the action forcing you to think about what’s happening inside of you. Sometimes you will even write thoughts and insights you didn’t even know you had.

I have written this devotional as a word study. That means I have spent months tracking the word joy and all its variations through the Scriptures. I know that I am changed forever because of these months. I have also tried to stay true to the Bible’s use of the word by writing directly from the intent of each passage and not just my own experiences. This book focuses on choosing joy, as we understand it from the Scriptures, which is many times different than how this world has taught us to define joy.

May this be the year that God supernaturally transforms your heart. May these days of study radically change your very nature. God has promised that His Word will not return void. Your commitment to learn from these small studies centered on joy will not leave you the same. I know that God will use His Word to give, restore and multiply His joy in your heart.

And so, dear one, let this new year of joy begin in your life and mine.

Angela

CHOOSING JOY

JOY

WEEK 1

For the Glory of God

MONDAY

THE PURSUIT OF JOY

Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.

—Psalm 43:4

Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy.

—2 Corinthians 1:24

As we begin this year of intentionally choosing joy, I want us to begin with one purpose in mind. We must choose joy in our everyday lives because a joy-filled life brings glory to God. God shines brightly through the soul that is wholly devoted to Him. Satisfied in Him. Trusting in Him. Delighting in Him.

If the pursuit of joy has seemed too worldly to you, then I pray this year of Scripture-directed joy will change your heart. The pursuit of joy and the glory of God are not in conflict. In fact, just the opposite is true. To pursue joy with your whole life is to honor the One who has given you life.

Would you let this truth release you into a year of running hard after all the joy God has for you through Jesus Christ? There is no guilt in pursuing joy on this earth. To turn away from this pursuit is to turn away from an opportunity to glorify God.

As you will see in the months to come, the pursuit of joy is a significant endeavor. For any man or woman who takes spiritual maturity seriously, the pursuit of joy must become a priority. Joy in your everyday life will not always be the comfortable kind of joy we have grown accustomed to in our culture. Pursuing joy in God is very different from just enjoying His gifts. Most of us know how to enjoy His gifts. But the pursuit of joy actually transforms us from the inside out.

Through His Word and our pursuit, His power and our surrender, the Creator of joy can put His joy inside of us. He can create in us what we have not been able to manufacture on our own. The more we approach the throne of God for this transformation, the more of God we will encounter. God desires that we would find our joy, our happiness, our peace, and our purpose in Him. When we have done so, He is glorified.

Through these weeks of devotion, we’ll pursue His joy together. May we cherish this journey and the joy that is set before us. May we pray with the psalmist: O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is not water (Psalm 63:1).

Now, write your own prayer about seeking the joy of the Lord this coming year.

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TUESDAY

DEEPENING YOUR DESIRE

As we begin this year, it seems appropriate to begin by asking the Lord to deepen our desire for His joy. I don’t know what has held your desire captive or what your priorities have been, but I do believe that God can deepen our desire and reorder our priorities.

Maybe you have made some new-year commitments about what you’d like to accomplish. If not, take a few minutes to list some here. If you already have that list, pull it out and rewrite it below. Across the top of your list write, Above all these things, I choose joy.

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WEDNESDAY

DELIGHTING IN THE LORD

Delight yourself in the LORD (Psalm 37:4). To delight ourselves in the Lord means that we find our joy in the Lord. Delighting in the Lord means turning from worldliness toward godliness. Changing from building our own treasure on earth toward discovering that Jesus is the treasure to be esteemed on this earth.

Will you approach this year of choosing joy with delight? Maybe you have chosen this devotional because you desperately need the joy of the Lord. Maybe you are like a woman who told me she has never experienced joy. Maybe you have only tasted joy and long to be filled with it. Maybe you have known the duty of the Christian life, but never the delight.

Take a few minutes to write what you need from the Lord:

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THURSDAY

FIGHTING FOR JOY

John Piper says that we must fight for joy. I agree with him wholeheartedly. We must fight for the relationship that God has called us to. We must fight against our very natures to become the joy-filled people of God. We must fight our sin and countless distractions. And for some, you will even have to fight against the ones you love so that the pursuit of joy becomes your priority.

Rejoice in the Lord! (Philippians 3:1). In this scripture, God actually commands us to rejoice in Him. For many, learning to rejoice will mean that we will have to fight for joy.

Will you have to fight for joy? What are the already obvious opponents in your battle?

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THE WEEKEND

RADICAL JOY

Choosing joy in your everyday life means more than just knowing the right things to think. The correct passages to quote. The theological doctrines of joy.

Choosing joy is a radical decision to honor God by experiencing the depths of God’s promises to us. It’s desiring Him above all else, rejoicing in His character, and living joyfully, according to His Word.

Radical joy is sin-destroying, world-changing, wound-healing, other-centered, and mission-minded. Radical joy creates a God-glorifying life. This year, may we choose radical, sold-out joy. Come alive joy. Passionate joy. Change-me-completely kind of joy.

This weekend, write a joy mission statement for yourself. What do you really want? And how do you propose to get there? When you’re done, take a few minutes and dedicate that plan to the Lord.

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For there exists a delight that is not given to the wicked, but to those honoring Thee, O God, without desiring recompense, the joy of whom Thou art Thyself! And this is the blessed life, to rejoice towards Thee, about Thee, for Thy sake.

—Augustine¹

JOY

WEEK 2

Always

MONDAY

JUST PLAIN ALWAYS

Be joyful always.

—1 Thessalonians 5:16

My assignment was to write fifty-two weeks of devotionals about