“It’s not much of a tail, but I am sort of attached to it.” That’s how Eeyore describes his tail which is always falling off. Eeyore is a melancholic, pessimistic “old, grey donkey” in the A.A. Milne stories ofWinnie the Pooh. He never expects anything to go right, and even when something seems to go right, he doesn’t enjoy the good, but rather expects something to go wrong soon. What do you expect from a donkey who lives in a corner of The Hundred Acre Wood called “Eeyore’s Gloomy Place: Rather Boggy and Sad.” He never seemed to know how to maintain joy.
Do you know any Eeyores? I do. Sunny days hold the threat of rain tomorrow. Glasses are always half empty, never half full. Up is really down and in must surely be out. “Oh, bother!” They can suck the life out of the rest of us if we let them.
For the Christian there is no reason to become Eeyores, in fact, the Bible encourages us to adopt an opposite attitude: JOY. Nehemiah tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Could that be the reason we see so many weak believers?
Joy differs from happiness. Happiness depends on what happens to us, but joy is a settled, calm assurance from deep inside that is the result of our satisfaction in God and our relationship with Him. The Greek word for joy is chairo which closely relates to charis the Greek word for “grace.” We can have joy because we have experienced grace.
4 Keys to Maintain Joy
Philippians 4:4-9 gives us some keys to maintaining joy in our lives.
1. Recognize the presence of God.
In verse 5, Paul tells us that a distinctly gentle spirit in the midst of our circumstances should characterize us because “the Lord is at hand” (near). Our happenings are not the source of our joy, but rather the presence of God and His accompanying power present reason to rejoice (re-joy; joy over and over again).
2. Bring all your anxieties to Him in prayer.
In verse 6, Paul challenges us to worry about nothing but pray about everything. Prayer puts us in a position to give thanks in advance, knowing God hears us and will answer.
3. Train your mind to think positive thoughts.
Negativity saps the joy from even the stoutest heart. However, the mind trained to dwell on the right things focuses not on what is but on what is possible. Verse 8 challenges us to train our minds to think on “these things,” and identifies 8 qualities of positive thinking.
4. Learn to practice what is right.
In verse 9, Paul reminds the people in the Philippian church that in the past they had learned, received, seen, and heard, a good example. Their responsibility then was continually to do the good they had seen modeled. Athletes redundantly practice fundamentals so that when game time comes, those fundamentals come naturally. Likewise, making it a disciplined habit always to do the right things puts us in a position to experience a deep seated joy. Even when doing the right thing yields what seems to be an unpleasant result, we can have joy in the fact that we did right.
None of us need be the human equivalent of an old grey donkey whose primary diet consists of prickly thistles. Jesus Christ lives in us, He has made us victorious, He accepts us, and He is developing us into something for His glory. Turn that frown upside down. God loves you . . . and so do I!
