Steve and Wendy Backlund – Igniting influencers with hope, joy and divine strategies for success.

Let's Just Laugh at this Lie:  It is Not My Personality to Be Joyful or to Laugh Much

Laughable Assumptions Behind This Lie:

• Joy is the optional fruit of the Spirit and is only for certain personalities.
• When the Bible says that a merry heart is good medicine, it did not really mean it but was just speaking metaphorically.
• Just as some don’t have the right personality to be a loving person, I don’t have the personality to be a joyful person.
• After God created people, He regretted giving them a sense of humor.
• We should not trust the perspective of any Christian who laughs a lot.
• It is okay to cry in church, but laughter should be avoided and shunned.
• I cannot be joyful until my circumstances change.

The Truth: We all can, and all need to, walk in abundant joy and laughter. 1) The joy of the Lord is truly our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).  2) Laughter improves our health (Proverbs 17:22). Many scientific studies confirm that a merry heart is indeed good like medicine. (See my book Possessing Joy for insight on this.)  3) As we become more like Jesus, we will experience more joy. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).   4) “In (God’s) presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). We may not always be fully joyful in God’s presence; but if we never are, then we might not be as much in His presence as we think. I don’t write this to bring guilt, but to help us increase our expectation of joy manifesting in us as we pursue God. 

Strategies for Overcoming This Lie: 

                  1. Know that God never commands us to do something that He does not give the grace to do – If joy and laughter are valuable for the believer (which they are), then there is grace available to walk in each. It may take us awhile to find how; but we will if we don’t give up.

                  2. Receive by faith, not by feeling– Many think that if they don’t feel something happening in them, then nothing is happening to them. This thinking is backwards. God’s pattern is that we believe and then experience, not experience and then believe (Mark 11:24).

                  3. Value childlikeness and pursue the manifestation of joy in your life – “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Yes, we don’t laugh at all times, but it still vital for us. Joy is not the whole pie, but it is an important piece for the Christian.

Declarations to Renew Your Mind and Change Your Mindsets: 1) God’s joy is my strength.  2) My daily hearty laughter is part of my plan for health, strength and longevity.  3) I encounter God by faith, not feelings.