A Prayer for Finding Joy in Simple Blessings
By Amanda Idleman
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” - Proverbs 17:22
Our spirits are designed to experience joy. It keeps us healthy and motivated and is one of the fruits of the spirit. Yet, we live in a fallen and broken world in which joy can easily allude us. Our minds, bodies, and souls are at war with the chaos around us. We all struggle to hold onto joy as we move through our days. I remember about six years ago when I was covered under the weight of burnout as a mother. It wasn’t one specific thing that had become too heavy for me to carry; it was that everything mounted one thing on top of another, leaving all my reserves depleted as a human. Joy was hard to grasp. Instead, my default mode was depression, dread, frustration, and exhaustion. I couldn’t see my simple blessings.
A few things helped me crawl out of my pit. God helped me celebrate the simple blessings all around me. I began to write a list of things I was grateful for, adding to it daily. I became grateful for so many tiny things because I was forcing myself to slow down enough to see them. Here are some things from that list that now bring tears to my eyes when I read them because I know how precious that season of young motherhood was and how much I desired to live those days well despite all my many limitations as a Mom. Number 574 on the list is my little boy saying, “Mom, this is my special day!” Number 524 is my boys playing with stuffed dragons in bed. Number 427 is watching brothers coloring together after bedtime.
Each item I recorded was so simple, but they were moments packed with promise and joy. In total, I committed to writing down 1,000 tiny and big things that year that I was grateful for. Now, that list of special, simple blessings is a treasure to me. Not only did it lift my heart from the claws of depression, but it also gave me something to memorialize all the sweetness that was packed into that intense season of raising three tiny kiddos.
Sometimes, we have to press pause, slow down, and declutter the spaces in our lives to see the simple blessings we’ve been given. We have to direct our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies toward the good and beautiful around us to push back the cloudy shadows of darkness that seek to cover our eyes. After that year of giving thanks, I realized that I had to live with more intentionality. An overwhelmed heart is not a joyful one. Investing in my well-being became a part of investing in my family, my faith, and my future. Joy is a lifestyle that relies on God’s strength to sustain us. It embraces God’s pace, which includes rest. It looks to him when we need arises in our lives. Joyful living takes nothing for granted and always aspires to see the one who made it all and give him thanks for all he has done.
Let’s pray:
Father, I thank you that the joy you offer us is healing. It renews our strength. It gives hope in this dark world. It is new every morning. We have access to joy as believers in every season. I thank you that we can find joy in the simple everyday. May your Spirit prompt us to slow down and take note of your beauty and goodness. Help us trade our sorrows for joy. Turn our ashes into beauty. Lift our eyes toward you again and again, reminding us that in all things, you work goodness. You have purpose in every season and power for every problem. Show us your ways; teach us your path. Guide us towards your truth that always inspires joy in our weary hearts. We need you every day to remind us that you are for us. Helps us see your faithfulness and find happiness in even the tiniest things. We love you, Jesus. Amen.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Sasha_Suzi
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington. Andrea Bocelli. Reba McEntire. Mark Wahlberg. Tony Dungy. Matthew McConaughey, What do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their story of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
Now that you've prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below!
