You know the rest, right? It’s a fun song, and it talks about how walking with God brings one joy in life. However, there’s another truth that the song suggests that can be critical to good life success. Taking the positive or joyful attitude about life helps you navigate through the challenging times of life.
I think I know more about this than most because I so often battle depression or depressing thoughts. For a variety of reasons, including some I can’t really articulate but only feel, I can easily move to a dark place. What I have found over the years is that once I set up camp in a dark place, my thoughts increasingly turn darker. From there, no matter what is going on, it’s all bleak and dark. The way out is to light the lamp of joy.
I see this in my students all the time. By the middle of the semester, there are some students who have begun to quit on themselves. While some may blame me or others, in my many conversations, what I hear most often is a version of “I am a terrible person/student; I am too dumb to pass your class.” They’ve lost the joy of learning that every child I have ever known has instinctively…until more formal schooling often beats the joy out of you. The solution to passing the class starts with turning your negative self-talk around into joyful talk. Sure, hard work will be involved, and for everyone in various classes, the best grade one may get could only be average. But since average is far better than failing, get that joy, joy, joy down into your mind and soul.
The same is true in the health field. A positive mindset is one of the key elements to overcoming major illnesses or surgeries. So, just this afternoon, I was ministering to my neighbor at the college who just found out he has cancer. He’s older, so there is a chance that a morose response could turn into “just let me die.” What I reminded him was that setting one’s sight on a positive end, a joyful conclusion, was key to making it through the challenges that the next 4-6 months will bring him.
Look…in one sense, the world will beat you down. Most of us won’t be famous or find our ultimate success such as in that maddening question of “what would you do if money was no object.” I have grown to hate that question because money IS an object; money ALWAYS is an object, a hurdle to deal with. So, we confront the challenges of whatever business we are in….and it’s hard with it feeling as if often the world never lets up in its attempt to beat us down.
The question isn’t will you get knocked down. The question is only will you get back up, or as Rocky often said, how much punishment can you withstand. Well, it’s not easy or fun to get punched, kicked and knocked down. It’s worse to be ignored, mocked or betrayed. But the way to move forward is much the same….joy.
Turn your mind to walk in joy. Start by rejoicing that you awoke this morning. That is no small feat; it is a miracle. Rejoice. Go from there…you can do it.
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy down in my heart…and up in my mind!