Wednesday, October 16, 2024:
Immersing in Joy (morning)
Proverbs 17:22 ESV
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Pondering Point
If a joyful heart is good medicine, how do I get a prescription for it – especially in the hard days? In the book, The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled People, they address pain:
"Let’s be real. It’s no fun to stay stuck in unpleasant emotions with no path back to joy. Returning to joy and peace means making the shift from the back of our brain where we isolate ourselves when things go wrong to the front of our brains where our relational self resides.
~ Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow, Joyful Journey, page 106.
Pray aloud
Lord Jesus, A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Teach me how to return to joy by working through my pain with you.
Five Minutes
Use your GO TO JOYS and ANTICIPATED JOYS to fill a 5-minute window. Remember: use an alarm. If necessary, review the explanation.
Read the identity in Christ
statement aloud
In Christ, we experience good medicine for our heart, leading to joyful resolution of difficult situations.
Closing Prayer
Close with thanks to God for these moments together.
Ask Him to bless the upcoming day, then…
GO – in JOY, with JOY anticipating JOY
From the book Joyful Journey:
When pain has been fully processed the experience usually produces wisdom. What caused us pain was not always a good thing, but a full resolution brings good from everything. This is redemption. If we allow God to take us through a proper pain-processing sequence, we develop deeper compassion and empathy. Moreover, those who courageously allow this process to bear fruit ultimately find they love God and others more deeply.
~ Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow, Joyful Journey, page 27.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024:
Sometime During Your Day
Level 3: Savoring joys of the past.
Proverbs 15:23 ESV
To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!
An “apt answer” can bring great joy – or relief – depending on the situation. An apt answer from God should also stir great joy in us. But how can we trust hearing from God? Consider this question the authors addressed in Joyful Journey:
From the book Joyful Journey:
Isn't Immanuel journaling putting words in God's mouth? I learned that only God can only speak through the Bible. Can I write down bible verses as God's responses?
In Immanuel journaling we can only be sure that we are writing our thoughts. The closer those thoughts come to God's thoughts, the more shalom exists. From Satan's temptation of Jesus (Mathew 4:1ff), we learn that not even quoting scripture will guarantee us God's thoughts. When we read scripture we also see its meaning through the thick glasses of what those words mean to us. If we limit what God can say to us through scripture, then God can never lead us to Boston (as an example) as Boston is not in any Bible texts.
~ Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow, Joyful Journey, page 69.
Journal Prompt:
Joy memory related to art and/or theatre.
Key Words:
Listening to Jesus...
Remember when I told Satan, “Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God?” It is not just to feed you, but to encourage you and build you up in joy – together. Dig in.
Immersing in Joy (evening)
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Proverbs 17:22 ESV
A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Pondering Point
This is as good a day as any to introduce this quote about health and stress:
Joy makes us healthier people more and more research
is supporting what we have likely already suspected just
as stress is harmful to our physical health so happiness especially relational happiness which we call joy Has a positive effect.
~ Warner, Coursey, The 4 Habits, page 11.
Pray aloud
Thank You, Immanuel, since a joyful heart is good medicine, fill my heart with joy – and let it be contagious! And since a crushed spirit dries up the bones, deliver me from bone-crushing spiritual problems as I cast my burdens upon You O Lord. Amen.
Review
Scour the day for ANTICIPATED or SURPRISE JOYS. You are training your brain to look for joy. This builds the habit. Recall the body sensations and emotion.
This solidifies the habit. Remember: use an alarm
Read the identity in Jesus
statement aloud
In Christ, we experience good medicine for our heart, leading to joyful resolution of difficult situations.
Evening Prayer
Thank God for blessing the day, ask for peaceful rest, then GO to sleep – in grateful JOY, anticipating new JOY tomorrow under His grace.