The Other Side of Letting Go: Finding Your Childlike Joy Again
There was a time that I lived in constant low-level anxiety. I don’t mean I was panicking all the time. Anxiety was like a thread that wove through my days, dictating my feelings and choices, with me completely unaware. It was the lens through which I saw the world.
I often felt that if I could get the anxiety symptoms under control then my life would be the way I hoped it would be.
Of course, there is no easy button out of fear and anxiety. It’s an inside out job that usually takes some time, and God is gracious to lead us a step at a time through the wildernesses of our lives. (I have other resources that talk about that part of the journey.)
But the biggest surprise that appeared on the other side of the fear was not a zen-like state or a calm, but a childlike joy.
The more I relinquished my life, my hopes, my relationships to the Lord, the more my trust flourished. The more trust, the more joy. I was shocked to find that joy was a natural byproduct of trust.
All along fear was ruining my ability to live in the present, to appreciate the beauty around me, to fully breathe in and experience the good.
In John 15:11 Jesus talks about making our joy complete. I used to shrug off these kinds of verses, probably out of the shame that I was a Christian who didn’t really feel joy, just contentment. But there is a promise there for a life that not only encompasses joy but a fullness of it.
The infamous Proverbs 31 woman can even laugh at the days to come, without fear of the future (Prov. 31:25, NIV). Doesn’t that sound wonderful?
I share this personal discovery not to bring condemnation to anyone who lives without a regular experience of joy, but to testify to the fact that it’s possible. You don’t have to wait until the stars of your life align, for your problems to vanish (haha), or to understand the mysteries of life.
You do have to keep taking your heavy burdens, your cares to the Lord. You have to be willing to let go of all you hold onto, so that He can hold it instead.
Joy is available here and now and it’s birthed out of a renewed trust in God.
If you are a Christian, you have trusted Him with your eternal salvation. He is calling you into a deeper trust, one that envelopes all of your current concerns and questions in his certainty, his stability, his faithfulness. He knows. And that can be enough for us to shrug off the worries and fears that try to drag us down daily.
Let’s take one small step together this week toward a life that is less in our own heads and more dependent on Father God and his understanding.
Scripture for meditation
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
John 15:9-11
Prompts for journal and discussion
Ask yourself if joy is a regular part of your life. Do you have any childlike wonder in your days? Do you recognize that God promises joy for you? When is the last time you remember having joy and what was it about?
Practice releasing fears and worries daily using a journal or the Daily practice in the Dawn app (free to install).
Go to the Dawn app to share your thoughts on this devotion and discussion questions or to request prayer, located in Resources > Community.
