Week 10 Devotional | Joy

 JOY

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

Being a great athlete and teammate can be tough because there are so many things that can easily discourage us, but God has given us tools in and through His word to help us overcome discouragement and so that we can live with peace and joy.

Our joy starts with Jesus. Even when He faced death, He possessed a deep joy beyond anything the world can offer. Just before He faced the cross, He spoke to His disciples and said, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete and overflowing." (John 15:11). The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I came so that you may enjoy your life." (John 10:10).

Joy does not mean that you don't or won't have problems. We will miss more shots than we make, and that is okay. We won't naturally get along with all of our teammates, we will lose games, and we will get yelled at and corrected by our coaches. When Jesus says that He wants us to have His joy, it's a joy that we can have even when nothing is going right. We all have problems, issues, concerns, and challenges, but Jesus came so that we can see and learn how to live with peace and joy through those problems.

Paul wrote the book of Philippians in the Bible while he was in jail, but he still mentioned joy 19 times. He also mentioned the functions of the mind 16 times. No matter what we are going through, it is our privilege as a child of God to be full of joy. The mind and the thoughts that we have in our mind have a lot to do with our joy. You can think yourself into being miserable and unhappy, or you can think yourself into being happy.

If you wake up and start thinking about the wrong stuff in the morning and think about everything you don't have and feel sorry for yourself, you can have a miserable day anytime you want to have one. If you come to practice thinking about all of the things that you don't want to do, then it won't be fun. If you come to practice excitedly thinking about the things that you do want to do, then you will enjoy it.

Your thoughts affect your actions and moods. As you go through life, think about what you do have and not what you don't have. Think about and focus on what your teammates do great, and think about and focus on the good things that they do to and for you. Your time as an athlete is limited; enjoy it. Remember that you have Jesus in your life, and as long as you have Him, you can have peace and joy.

Peace and joy start in your mind and your heart. It starts with the thoughts you have. It flows through your close, tight relationship with Jesus. He didn't die for us just to have a religion; He died for us to have a relationship with Him. Through that relationship, we have peace, joy, and all of the other fruits of the spirit.

One of the responsibilities of a follower of Jesus is to live a happy life. Adversity and challenges come to everybody, but because we have Jesus in our life, we can have the same problems and challenges that other people have but we can handle them differently.

Today, this week, and forever, wake up thinking about the good things in your life. Come to practice thinking about and focusing on the good things. Focus on the things that bring you joy. Focus on the mercy and forgiveness of God. Focus on the fact that every day is a brand new day, and His mercy is new every day. Our joy, or the lack of it, speaks a message to the world, and the Bible says that we are the light of the world.

Choose to think about the right things. Choose to have a positive perspective. Even the worst circumstances cannot steal your joy if you won't let them. Don't focus on what you have lost or what you don't have or what you can't do. Focus on what you have and what you can do. Focus on the strengths of your teammates, and not their weaknesses. Think about the things that you like about your coaches, your teammates, and your life. Think about and focus on your strengths.

Philippians 1:1-2 - "Grace to you and peace to you from our Father."

This Week

1 - Think about the right things and choose to have a positive perspective, even in the worst moments.

2 - What is your favorite thing about playing sports?

3 - What is your favorite part of practice?

4 - What do you love about your teammates?

5 - What do you love about your coach?