Sustainably joyful
Martha Olawale
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Psalm 103:1-2
I recently experienced a joyful high because something amazing happened to my family. I felt such a burst of joy when we got the news that I’d love to bottle up the moment and relive it every day. For a while, you’d think it was impossible to wake up with any more life’s questions or prayer requests. God has answered all my prayers instantly, and everything is good enough now for me to run a million miles for the Kingdom.
Well, not so fast. A few weeks later, I found myself asking God to help with this and that. I almost totally forgot that my bargain with Him was to listen to what He wants me to do for other people now that He has answered my prayers. He did His part and calmed my fears, which means I should use the rest He gave me to bless the world and make His Kingdom come.
The human mind is often preoccupied with the needs of today and tomorrow. However, our gratitude for them tends to fade as soon as those needs are met. There is no such thing as reaching a level that guarantees continued joy outside of God. You can own the whole world and have the means to travel beyond the galaxies and still feel empty. The joy worldly achievements give you is momentary, not eternal. Only walking with God and living in His purpose for your life can make joy sustainable.
As I lay on my bed, I couldn't help but question my right to ask God for petty things when He had just shown up in a big way in my life. Like the Psalmist, I had to remind my soul to pause and remember God’s goodness. I created a mental room for myself to live in—a room with walls filled with notes of remembrance of God’s greatness. While I may still suffer from gratitude amnesia now and then, I am consciously demanding that my soul never forget.
Being sustainably joyful is a function of posture and comes with intentionally reminding your soul who God is and His kindness toward you. He always comes through and gets us to the other side of the messiest roads. When you remove God from the source, everything crumbles; the formulas, hypotheses, and conjectures fall apart. Sustainable joy can only come from walking with the Most High, and enduring peace can only be found in Him.
