The Necessity of Joy

Seun Adeyemi

5 min readJul 29, 2023

Devotion Notes (Series)

Date: 07/13/2023

“Joy is prayer. Joy is strength. Joy is love. Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls”. — Mother Theresa.

“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude”. — Karl Barth.

“Joy is not necessarily the absence of suffering; it is the presence of God”. — Sam Storms.

Hymn: Make Me a Channel of Your Peace

Make me a channel of your peace:

Where there is hatred, let me bring your love;

where there is injury, your healing power,

and where there’s doubt, true faith in you.

Make me a channel of your peace:

where there’s despair in life let me bring hope;

Where there is darkness, only light,

and where there’s sadness, ever joy.

O, Spirit, grant that I may never seek

so much to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace:

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

in giving to all that we receive,

and in dying that we’re born to eternal life.

Scripture reading:

The Wisdom of Joy: Proverbs 17: 22

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

The Message of Joy:

Joy is an intangible inheritance that can be passed down from one generation to generation. Joy is one of the most precious gifts God has freely given to us as His children.

Joy in my opinion is not just a feeling or state of well-being and contentment. But it is also not a mere emotion or vibe but a state of mind. That state of mind has the authority to preside over the cities of discontentment and territories.

Living a joyful life or a life full of joy should be a priority for us as Christians and human beings. Joy is one of the values that an individual or a family can emulate in our individual lives, in our homes, offices, and everywhere we go.

Joy is a shield and armor against darkness and down times. That is, joy can come in our defense against sadness, depression, grave empty silence, regrets, sorrow, mourning, and grief.

Some of the certain ways we express joy, is through praise, singing, worship, thanksgiving, clapping, dancing, walking, smiling, laughing, mimicking, partying, eating & feasting together, working, going out, listening to music, sport games, movies, travelling & tourist tours, winning awards & prizes, good news & reports, and even celebrations, such as birth of a baby, marriage, and birthdays. There is also joy indirectly attained through economic prosperity, buying an asset, and breakthroughs in business & career.

Joy has a relationship with the phenomenon called Time, as we can experience joy in the morning, afternoon, and evening/night. Joy can be timeless and remain significant to our lives. Joy remains threaded and knitted to the fabrics of our lifetime through birth, birthdays, graduation/convocation, awards ceremonies, securing an internship/full-time job, national service, military service, engagement, marriage, business success, and even proxy celebrations with family, friends, and other people directly connected to us and sometimes indirectly connected to us in form of strangers.

Joy has a direct relationship with the Spirit of favor as it can make one to have the ability to attract favor, opportunities, and materialistic things of this life. A mere smile and laughter emit positivity and intangible energy source which make Joy brings gifts through celebrations and special days in our lives. For example, the Birth of Jesus Christ the Messiah and the Three Wise Men who joined to celebrate the birth of Jesus with gifts Matthew 2:1–12 [NLT]. Matthew 2:10 [NLT] says that “When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!”, while still on the same text, Matthew 2:10 [NLT] which says that “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy!.” The Birth of Jesus brought joy into this world and a birth of any child today bring joy into a home and family. The Three Wise Men brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (treasures) in Matthew 2:12. The birth of any child today attracts amazing gifts and needs in various forms to a family. Even greeting and a sign of respect draws favor unto people.

There is also a relationship between Joy with peace, comfort, good health, gratitude, gratitude, and gratefulness. Joy brings rest, peace, comfort, and eventually maintains creates a sound mind. Be grateful for life, for living, for the things you have or possess. Gratitude feeds your mind with immeasurable joy.

Joy brings colors in our plain canvas of our lives and adds beauty in our souls, minds, and eyes.

Surround yourself with instruments of joy. Surround yourself with God’s presence. Surround yourself with family and good people. Surround with nature and natural beauty God created for us to enjoy. Smile always and try not to allow your reasons to rejoice to be in the good times but let joy exist in our lives for all times. Be cheerful and live a life filled with gladness, delight, understanding, wisdom and satisfaction.

Self & Team Building Exercises:

Joy can be shared within us as individuals and also with family and friends. Below are self and team building exercises in the form of word search puzzles. Grab a pencil or pen and start searching for those words. After everyone has identified the words and fill the empty fields below, let everyone share their choices with everyone.

From the Joy Word Search Puzzle, select any three words you would like to make part of everyday lifestyle in your life, at home, with friends, and every other place.

**Creative activity (A):** Play the Joy Word Search Puzzle individual or with friends or family during devotion/fellowship.

For Myself:

(i)……………………. (ii)……………….……. (iii)……………….……..

For the Family/Group/Team/Best Friends:

(i)……………………. (ii)……………….……. (iii)……………….……..

From the Feelings Word Search Puzzle, select three words you would like to make part of everyday lifestyle in your life, at home, with friends, and every other place.