Why You Have a Responsibility to Be Joyful

Here’s how it went yesterday.

I had a little weep as I typed my last medical transcription report.  Job of 11 years over.  Had a little weep as my husband asked me about it later in the morning.  Had a little weep after he went to work.  Just kind of sad to lose a job I enjoyed.  And now what?  New adventures coming but not quite here yet.

So I was scrolling through Facebook, all swimmy-eyed, and followed a link that led to a page full of Gaither videos.

Looking around to make sure nobody was watching (even though I was home alone), I clicked on one of these videos.  The hair, the clothes, the music –it’s all horribly, horribly outdated.

But there’s something the Gaithers have that will never, ever go out of style –joy in the Lord.  It’s this whole stage full of people who are happy to sing about Jesus.  Their eyes light up with every good word that comes out of their mouths.  And a few songs in I found their joy had transferred to my heart.  Contagious.

Oh yes, to know Jesus is to know happiness.

I needed their joy today, because for just a wee bit of time I had lost mine.  I needed their smiles and sparkly eyes and energetic singing about the Savior.

So I conclude from this experience that we have a responsibility to be joyful.  We must work –WORK I tell you –to seek joy in the Lord, to let His presence get all the way to our eyes and the corners of our mouths.  Because all around us are fellow believers who –for a wee bit –have lost their joy.  It is our duty to carry it to them.

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.”  (Psalm 95:1  NIV)

Let us hum a tune with bright eyes and a thankful soul.  And smile.  We should be smiling.

It’s contagious.