True Joy

laura-b-headshot
by Laura Boswell
TV Presenter & Script Writer, CBN Europe
Featured Articles

Beauty is only skin deep. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Don’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. All these are famous quotes that encourage us not to discern a situation by how it may appear on the surface. Today we delve into the topic of joy and what it means to discover a joy that is far more than just a feeling.

Beneath the Surface

I have always been a very outwardly joyful person. I’ve always wanted to be friendly and approachable, as well as smiley to those around me. 

It has always been a huge part of my personality. As such, it has been easy for people to assume what they have seen on the outside is how I have felt on the inside. Unfortunately, that has not always been the case.  

I was saved back in 2002 following a lady sharing the gospel with me on a work placement from Uni at a Christian radio station. I was convicted of my sin and my need for Jesus and gave my life to Him in a prayer. 

Shortly after that I had a troubling time with my thought life. Previously, as a teenager, I had experienced fear and irrational thoughts, but it seemed (after salvation) to crank up a gear. Suddenly I found life became more challenging and I was unable to mask what was actually going on inside. 

At the time I think I was very caught up in my feelings and believing that my thoughts were important. The more I dwelt on them, the worse I felt.  

What God has taught me over the years is that He is in control, and we can choose to be joyful! That doesn’t mean we need to understand everything first. As soon as I have engaged with the thoughts and fear has grown, it always creates more thoughts and more fear.  

Suddenly I found life became more challenging and I was unable to mask what was actually going on inside. 

More Than Just Scripture

God says in His word: ‘Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 4-6). 

I used to think this was a nice scripture, but it spoke against what I was doing and as I had so many reasons to be worried, it couldn’t apply to me. What God has taught me is that the truth is true regardless of what we are thinking about. If God says don’t worry, then we don’t need to worry because He is in control of everything. It’s like when I have a thought and worry, I will think “but there’s this and what about that?” God is saying, you don’t need to worry about that! It is literally a case of letting go of the control and trying to figure it out and instead leaving it with God because He wants me to trust Him and to live at peace. 

When we obey God there is such freedom and peace. It reminds me of a child just trusting their parents for everything. They don’t worry about their needs being met. They don’t even need to think about it. That is what God wants for us. Trusting Him like a child.  

There is such power in God’s word and when we stand on it, we will bear fruit from doing what it says. When I sense fear attached to a thought, I now know that I can stand on that scripture and not even let the thought land because God does not want me to worry. 

It is living life in peace today and not allowing fear to rob me of it. Joy is the fruit of that. 

The Bible says in Nehemiah 8:10: “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” When we choose to be joyful, He can lift us up from the pit we are in.  

Related Articles

Prince of Peace

Everlasting Father

Mighty God

Wonderful Counsellor

Real Life Stories

Power in the Light

Parenting Halloween

Out of the Darkness

Free and Free Indeed

The Power of the Gospel

Gospel Power

Proximity

Protecting Your Joy

Joy Has A Reason

Choose Joy

The Love we Deserve

Love in the Community

Surrounded

Love is a Verb

Servant or Served?

Hide and Seek

Selah

Never Lose Your Wonder

When They Saw the Star

Superbook Christmas 2021

Walking in the Sweet Spot

When Lives Are Restored

God Uses Broken Lives

Still in the Race

Growing Healthy Fruit

Stuck or Safe?

Embrace Your Journey

Ditch The Rotten Fruit

On Eagle’s Wings

In The Field

Life-Giving Words

Inside Out

The God Chase

My Redeemer Lives

Love Never Fails

Love Out Of Faith

Love Rejoices In Truth

Love Hopes All Things

99-1

CBN Europe READ

New Year, New You..?

The Gift Of New

Faithful Servanthood

Distracted

Hope In Action

Ask

Made To Worship

The 18-Inch Gap

Me, Myself and I

My Jesus Story

Songs That Speak

The God Who Sees

Warrior, Not Worrier

Finding Your Why

7 Days Ablaze Devotional

Don’t Date A Christian

Kill the Cancer of Contempt

Help! I feel called to…

You Are What You Love

He Likes To Be Asked

Remember Who You Are

A Letter For You

We Are The Selfie

Chase Wisdom

Jesus Leadership

Give God Some Space

Choose Faith

Tear Down Those Walls

How To Handle Bad News

Get Into The Flow

The Power of Partnership

Is God Too Busy For Me?

It Is A New Day

Presents & Presence

Unashamed To Be Naked

How To Overcome Offence

Don’t Be A Pigeon!

How Do You Treat Jesus?

The Colosseum of Mercy

CBN: A Ministry of Prayer

Does God Tempt Us?

The Secret To Contentment

How Do I Pray Out Loud?

Why Should I Pray Out Loud?

Do You Believe?

“Call Me Dad”

The Pinnacle Is Praise

A Tip About Tense

When Bono Met Eugene

‘Wonder’ Review

Elohim

Get A Life!

Generous Light

Faithful Prayer

Off By Heart

Faith In The Feels

Give God Some Space

Whose New Life?

Sharing Is Caring

The God Who Renames

Whatever The Weather

“To the Mothers”

Me, My Selfie and I

Making Time for God

Fresh Starts:

A Focus On Praise

Paul’s Challenge

Thanks to the Past

Steadfast Relationship

The Search For Approval

Don’t Date A Christian

My Champion, My Friend

Adoption And The Gospel

Remembering God

We Need “One Another”

Journal The Journey

Love Like Jesus

First Love

Love Language

Pursue Love

Down Is Up

The Simplest Law Of Love

Everything Made New

Too Busy Not To Love

Building Site Faith

Naked and Unashamed

Same Same but Different

Sitting with Dad

Trained for Dependence

Where’s Your Faith?

Waters

Keep Moving

The Way

The Training Ground

Hungry

Risky Faith

Substance or Shadow?

Come to the Waters

When God Breaks Your Legs

Getting Through Asia

Expectant

His Hand and His Heart

Barrier or Bridge?

It Belongs To You

Eager Expectations

Let’s Talk

Tangles

 in Blog, Blogs
Comments
  • Mark Jeremy Munuve

    Thank you very much. Very encouraging message. I am blessed. Glory to God.
    I will appreciate more of those , messages

0