The Book's Purpose

• Invite Christians into the reality of lasting joy promised by God
• Reveal the message of true and obtainable joy that the Bible teaches
• Explain how joy is found and maintained
• Address the common hindrances and barriers to joy
• Lead readers on a journey where worry, fear, and anxiety are replaced by lasting joy

The Book's Message

If being happy every day of our lives were truly a possibility, wouldn’t all of us want it? Although many of us doubt that this can be a reality, Mason demonstrates from his own 90-day experiment that God is generously and continually offering this exuberant gift of happiness to us. How can we discover it, experience it, and live in?

Redefining Happiness

In the fall of 1999, God led me to conduct a 90-day experiment in joy. I decided that for a three-month period I would focus on and live in joy as much as I could. I knew this would be a big challenge for me, a naturally depressive and, at times, addictive person. I wanted to break my addiction to a melancholy life and seek champagne for the soul instead.

In an experiment, one hopes to succeed in the endeavor, but it is primarily an inquiry into the truth. I wanted to know~can I really live every day in joy? Is that truly possible? During the 90 days of my experiment, I witnessed a miracle of God's grace. Though every day wasn't full of abundant joy, as I grew in my determination to face challenges and persistently probe for joy, I found the experiment surprising me and remaking my soul, taking me to dimensions of happiness I would never have dreamed of.

The remarkable thing about this experiment was that it began in the midst of tragedy. We had just received news that good friends of ours had two teenage sons~their only children~who were killed in a car accident. In the middle of processing the anguish and grief of that disaster, the idea came to me to begin 90 days of seeking joy. At first the idea seemed not only strange but inappropriate for such circumstances. But days later, the thought would not rest, and I came to the conclusion that this must be God’s idea. And so I began to seek happiness, even in the midst of great loss.

“Rejoice always!” writes the apostle Paul. People always object, believing that no one can really be happy all the time. Although during my experiment and on into today I still have ups and downs, I strongly believe that nothing stops Christians from living out Paul's command. “Why not accept the grand, stupendous gift of life like a big chunk of watermelon, letting the sweet, pink flesh melt in your mouth, and as for the rest, spit it out? Why gnaw away dolefully on seeds and rind?” We get stuck on the word “always,” and forget that the key is “in the Lord.” It is only in God’s strength and through God’s power that we can rejoice always. God has given us “everything we need for life and godliness.” Why would we not rejoice? Our source has no limits and lasts forever.

We forget that joy, like rest, is a basic requirement~we need joy in our lives. We think that it really isn’t necessary, that most of life is meant to be endured, not enjoyed. And yet we are God's children, and He desires that we be happy. Joy and rest are intimately linked. Resting helps us unclench and let go of all we need to do, so that we can open our hands to receive.

In one of Jesus’ parables, a man gives up everything so he can buy a field where treasure is buried. In his quest for joy, he's willing to give up all. What keeps us from giving up all to find the joy? Just one thing~a wimpy faith in the joy of the gospel. We think happiness is like sweets or chocolate~that we should really have just a little. Surely God can’t mean we can be happy all the time. We don't believe, and so we lose out on the treasures.

When we first meet Jesus, there is always joy. To get that joy back we need to simply retrace our steps to the peace, freedom, and joy we felt when we first knew we were forgiven. How did joy come the first time? By faith~by learning and accepting the amazing truth that we are forgiven when we repent. If we're not filled with joy, perhaps our repentance was incomplete. “The sign that we’ve repented well is happiness, as God consumes our sacrifice of sorrow and exchanges it for joy.”

When can we experience joy? Right now, in the present. We cannot control the past or the future, but we can choose in this moment, every moment, to notice the glorious day God has given and rejoice. That decision affects not only the present moment, but also my view of the past and future. Being happy for a lifetime sounds like expecting too much, and yet it's not too much to find joy in a moment. “The mountainous project of life must be broken down into manageable steps.”

Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments of Psalm 100? “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs...” Every verse of this psalm commands us in a different way to rejoice or find joy in the Lord. God commands us to be filled with joy. How can God do this? Isn’t it impossible? No. Jesus has done all that is needed to be sure you can be happy. He died and rose again so that His joy would be in us and our joy would be complete (John 15:11).

If we lack joy, it means we do not really believe. I'm writing this book to show that joy is not haphazard; it is in part, a spiritual discipline. As in weight lifting, I must actually lift weights if I want to get strong. If I want to be joyful, I must cooperate with God and use my will in order to unwrap God's free gift of joy.

Joy is a feeling, but it mixes frequently with other emotions. Like the women at the empty tomb, we might be afraid but also filled with joy. Or sorrowful, but experiencing a deep sense of God’s security and love. When we're fearful, joy gives us the hope of victory even in the middle of the battle. During my experiment, I was not buoyantly happy, nor was that my purpose. Moods continued to ebb and flow. “Nevertheless joy kept returning like the ocean's tide to wash my soul.”

Joy changes how we define happiness. Happiness is not always feeling wonderful. It might be doing the best I can in a tough situation, or being confident I can overcome anything, or giving myself a break, or letting God’s grace release any pressure to perform.

Joy means we must sometimes bore straight down through all the chaotic thoughts and circumstances, down to reach the still waters and green pastures that God provides at the center of our hearts. Can joy and great difficulty co-exist? Can the sun still shine brilliantly with clouds in the sky?

The Secret of Happiness

The book of Ecclesiastes speaks to one of the great enemies of happiness~ futility. This is the feeling of those who have tried everything, who have found no joy, and who are weary of life itself. The writer concludes not with exactly how to be happy, but just an admonition to be happy. “Stop trying to figure it all out, and just enjoy what's under your nose … try enjoying your life exactly as it is ... Be happy now! If you can’t find happiness in the present moment, you never will. Joy isn't around the corner~it’s here.”

A key to finding happiness is not having the things you want, but rather accepting and enjoying the circumstances and possessions you have. The rich and poor can both be shackled by covetousness~wanting what they don't have. Paul knew the secret to happiness is being content in any situation (Philippians 4:12). The writer of Ecclesiastes claims that what we need to be happy, then, is nothing at all, since whatever we have right now can make us happy. The true secret to happiness is to accept our “lot” and rejoice. What we already have is a gift from God; we can choose contentment, which leads to happiness.

grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” True joy is a strength that invades the emotions, thoughts, and body. It is like a muscle~it must be exercised, and with it we can accomplish things. It is an inner dynamic that flows outward to touch others and transform our world.

So much unhappiness could be avoided if we would just listen to the voice of joy instead of the voice of misery. If we listen for joy and choose to follow it, we will not be pulled off course~even when we face hardships. Many Scriptures tell us how to find joy; they also explain how we will experience blessings if we follow God’s ways. Pleasing God leads to joy.

Do you see your problems as light and fleeting or heavy and insurmountable? “Can you taste the glory to be won through them, or do you wish they'd just go away?” Joyful people are not stuck in their troubles. Pain moves through the happy person like a channel and quickly out again.

Joy won’t come without a fight, and we are here to fight the good fight. We can't accomplish God’s work without first conquering the enemy. Joy is sometimes assertive, persistent, unrelenting, and stubborn as it fights against the evil that would steal it away. Doing God’s work is facing challenges and having victory over anxiety, fear, hatred, and darkness.

Winning at spiritual warfare requires us to love the battle. Just as athletes love the clash of the competition, we must love fighting for good, fighting for joy, and taking action against the enemy.

Power of Choice

A very close connection exists between joy and thanksgiving, the act that fosters a heart of gratitude. Thanksgiving focuses our hearts on the reasons to be glad instead of reasons to worry or fear. “Joy requires single-mindedness. The world is full of reasons to be sad or distressed, but beauty and goodness also abound. Which to look at? What you see is what you get.” Joy is a choice. Step by step, moment by moment we choose happiness.

Failure to believe is the main barrier to joy. Many of us simply do not believe we can be happy. We can't be joyful unless we believe that being happy is what God wants for us~it’s allowed. If we think we're only allowed to have a small portion of joy and that there's not enough to go around, we will not be happy.

So how do we move into confident belief? It starts with commitment to joy~to choose rejoicing no matter what. Day by day, that choice will become a habit, and then a character trait.

Joy depends on a solid sense of who I am and what God calls me to do in His kingdom. I can love myself as I am because God does. He delights in me and in you. Sometimes Christians believe that His love and power aren’t really working for them when really they just haven't believed they’re good enough to be loved. When we tear ourselves down, we doubt God. Paul’s exhortation teaches us what kind of thinking leads to joy. “Whatever is true … noble … right … pure ...” Let those thoughts rekindle your joy.

There are times when I feel empty and low, and if I sit silently and wait, God will slowly fill me with His Spirit of joy without any apparent contribution from me. It’s like bathing in God’s river of delights. It’s a joy I want to share with others.

Far too many are anxious, confused, distressed, and unhappy; few are deeply happy. “I want to demystify joy, to make it common fare for every Christian.”

Joy is contagious. When we are finally free from the pull of misery and we choose to live in joy, others will see it and they will want to join us.

Job Description Joy

Worrying that joy will leave us is the surest way to send it away. And nothing we're worried about can really be enjoyed! But if I loosen my grip on happiness and rest in God’s faithfulness for anything that comes my way, then nothing can take joy away. What do we fear the most? Having to fight. The Promised Land was given to the Israelites, but it had to be conquered. It was full of enemies who weren't going to just walk away. God wanted His people then and He wants us now to conquer every fear that would steal our happiness. While God gives us joy, we must clearly take hold of it for it to be ours. Our work in the world is to pursue joy!

Joy comes because we are not alone; we do not need to handle life all by ourselves. Joy is the very presence of God in our lives. Our emptiness is filled by the presence of Jesus. Every sentence I write about joy, I’m really writing about Jesus. When I don't feel full of joy, it's because I've lost the sense of His presence. Since I know that I am deeply loved by Jesus forever, I can rest and stop worrying about my joy disappearing. It will always be there; I am continually embraced, moment by moment, by the love and joy of Jesus.

During my 90 days, I kept making the mistake of thinking it was up to me produce joy. And if I was less joyful on one day, I’d whine and wonder what I was doing wrong. The resulting anxiety of course drove joy far away. “The path to joy is through trust in my Lord, not distrust in myself … The question, “what's wrong with me?” was answered the day I became a Christian. What's wrong is that I'm a sinner and always will be in this life. So what else is new?”

Jesus takes that sin and obliterates it, and now I am condemned no longer. But joy will elude me if I hang onto the worry that there is still something wrong with me even after all Jesus has done. I’m not only doubting myself, I'm doubting God. “To believe in God is to believe also in ourselves.”

Shortcut to Happiness

Even the sound of the word joy is joyful. At the beach one day I heard the waves roar out the word “J-J-J-J-J-O-YYY” as they crashed on the shore. I love to body-surf, and ride the power surge of the waves. If you know how to catch a wave, body-surfing is exhilarating. If you don't, it can be a disappointing experience. So it is with joy. Like the continuous waves, there is always plenty of joy; you just need to know how to catch it. And while we can sometimes plan experiences that will give us joy, we are often totally surprised when God miraculously sends it our way.

God offers joy for free, but it is not without cost. If I’m unhappy, something is obstructing joy. Am I willing to sacrifice that thing? Can I give up being angry or worrying? Will I let go of thinking I need better circumstances in order to be joyful?

David, author of many psalms, knew how to shake off troubles as a sacrifice of joy. In so many of his psalms, he comes to God with fears, anxiety, anger, and trouble, but he sets that all aside so he can worship and praise. Like the psalmist, I can place my focus on loving, worshiping, and expressing gratitude to God in everything. Joy comes rushing in when we live with that as our ambition.

It’s easy to “consider it all joy” when things are going well. It’s much harder when we are facing trials of all kinds. Everyone has problems, whether they are happy or not. Unhappy people hate having problems, while happy people contentedly work through the problems and discover joy in the midst of and even because of them. Trials offer a shorter pathway into joy. We can either whine about our problems, or we can solve them.

Hidden Joy

Often during my experiment, I wrote about joy at night and reflected on where it had touched me during the day. Often I was surprised where joy emerged. Unexpected treasures rose to the surface as I disciplined myself to observe what brought me joy each day. As I meditated and dwelt on those moments of joy, my joy grew deeper still.

One Christmas, my family spent a week at a tiny rustic cabin on a frozen lake in British Columbia. With no electricity or running water, our only source of heat was a wood-burning stove. Feeding the fire to keep us from freezing became a critical task to maintain our comfort and survival. If it was neglected, we spent a lot of time struggling to get the cabin warm again. This ongoing task became a symbol for me of the spiritual life and of the need to perpetually feed the fires of joy. Keeping the fire alive in such a frigid environment required focus; we had to put other things aside until that fire was burning brightly again.

Joy is much the same. “Yes, joy is God’s gift, but we must stretch out our hands to split the kindling of prayer, carry the logs of good deeds, lay the fire of faith, and strike the match of the Spirit. If we do our part, the Lord will not fail to build a cheerful roaring fire in our hearts.” We don't hesitate to care for our daily physical needs. Why wouldn't we give our spiritual needs similar attention?

Many of us think we have one or more big problems blocking our way to happiness. What is yours? Illness? Rebellious kids? Financial difficulties? An empty marriage? We often think that if this problem could be solved or just go away, then joy would be attainable, right? Wrong.

Even if your current problem were miraculously solved, another would soon rush in to take its place. “The real problem is that you think you cannot be happy as long as you have a problem. You'll always have problems; therefore you'll never be happy. The solution to this pitiful dilemma is easy: First become happy, and then you'll be able to handle your problems.”

When you are happy, there is great power within you for doing good and overcoming what’s wrong. Happiness is a weapon~grab it and use it to conquer your problems!

Happiness begins with our acceptance and our acknowledging what we are facing, and then working to change or heal it with God’s power. Life will give us troubles. Being happy has nothing to do with being trouble-free. It's the attitude you choose toward trouble that makes all the difference.

Closer Than You Think

The longer I focused on joy, the more I realized that God was converting my understanding; He was transforming how I looked at the world and at myself. I began to see life through eyes of joy. “It was as if I’d lived in shade all my life, and suddenly the sun came out.” I began to see joy in the smallest, most ordinary things. A tiny pink rosebud next to the mailbox caught my eye, and all day, the thought of that perfect, beautiful thing kept me joyful. I am realizing that there are signs of God’s glory everywhere, if only I open my eyes. We forget so easily that the kingdom of God is really about peace and joy~it is at the center of our spiritual lives. With joy, we accomplish much for the Kingdom. Without it, we're miserably spinning our wheels.

Prayer is always connected to joy. Paul wrote, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). Some people haven’t discovered the joy in prayer, because they either ritualize it to death, or “squeeze it into such cramped spaces that it feels like a wolfed breakfast rather than a relaxed, candlelit dinner. Prayer is the language of love, of intimate relationship.” Prayer is simply turning your heart toward the God who loves you and is the source of your joy. Joy, however, does not stay focused on ourselves. God is the center of true joy. When we focus our hearts on what matters to Him, we find true joy.

In spite of all the commands to rejoice, we know we won't be joyful every minute. There are times we will weep and mourn, and joy will seem to be gone. But has it vanished? Like the weather, there will be sun and clouds, storms and rain, and yet the sky is always there. Joy makes the most of whatever light is available, even when it’s dark. Heartache and grief are sometimes necessary in our journeys. But happy people don't get stuck in self-pity or denial; they keep moving through the difficulties, on into the joy at the end.

We ourselves have tremendous power over our level of joy. Unless we attempt to find joy in all situations, we will never know how happy we can be. We have much more impact on our happiness than we realize. Having joy every single day might not be possible, but a joy-filled life is. It is always within our reach.

Some people might object, saying that committing ourselves to complete happiness is too selfish, too limiting a goal. Many important parts of life don't relate to happiness, they say. When Jesus was heading for the cross, for instance, He wasn't pursuing His own happiness. He had a more noble goal. But Hebrews 12:2 tells us clearly, “But for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.” Jesus knew that His dying on the cross would bring forgiveness and great joy to others, and in the end, joy to Himself.

A Permanent Change

How do we hold on to joy? If we develop deep roots and drink fully of the living water when it rains, we can last through the desert times. It does take work to hold on to the good, and we’ll be tested at times to the end of our endurance. But the more we cling to the good in tough times, the stronger our grip will grow. “To be joyful is to know how to handle suffering, how to marry it with joy. As we suffer well, threads of joy interweave our pain.”

Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow Him, and promised that our burden would be light. How can a cross be light? The secret is willingly taking up the cross. When I accept the cross I am given, I will find Jesus voluntarily sharing my burden, and it will be light. Joy exists in acceptance.

“No one will take away your joy,” Jesus tells His disciples in John 16. Can joy possibly be permanent? During my experiment I had ecstatic days, and I had hard days and humdrum days. But even on the tough days, I found I was learning to live without grumbling, a new thing for me. When I stopped to ponder this, I found joy creeping in around the edges. Joy had been there all along, waiting for me to notice.

When you expand your home with an addition, the house is permanently bigger. In a similar way, when your joy increases, it permanently alters your capacity to feel joy. Your ability to know and experience joy is larger and deeper, and that will never change. As I neared the end of my experiment, it seemed that God was deepening my joy even more significantly, as a pure gift of His love. I know He desires that I keep seeking joy, believing, obeying, and fighting for it, but I sense He also insists that I acknowledge that it is His free gift He gives me without any help from me at all. “Joy is God’s work; faith is ours.” The river of God's joy is flowing right beside us; we just need to step into that everlasting flow.

At the end of the 90 days, my whole perspective on joy had changed. I had begun the experiment worrying if I'd really be able to do this~seek and find joy every day. I ended it by looking at God in awe. “How wonderful He is to do this for me! While in the beginning it seemed there was so much I had to do to maintain joy, in the end I felt that God was doing everything~steadying my nerves, clearing away my doubts, delivering me from trials, filling me with nearly continuous joy, and bringing me a new clarity about the accessibility of a joy-filled life for every believer.”