Give Thanks, Be Joyful, Give Glory
Habit 10 of the Discipleship Guidebook is part of the last section, called “Give Life.” After we have Received Life and Grown with and through one another, we exercise Jesus’ Commission as we lead, give thanks, encourage, and multiply. Habit 10 is Give Thanks, Be Joyful, Give Glory: a Christian life is one that consistently looks back and glorifies God through remembrance and joy. ( Catch our peek into Habit 9 here )
Three Greek words that feature prominently in the New Testament are very closely related: “charis” (grace), “eucharisteo” (give thanks), “chara” (joy, happiness). Experiencing the grace of God gives us thousands of reasons to give thanks to God, which gives us joy and gives God glory. Written in 1647, the Westminster Shorter Catechism famously asks and answers: “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” We like to nuance this answer by saying: “Man and Woman’s chief end is to glorify God by enjoying him and his gifts forever.”
Everybody on the planet is seeking happiness. This deep desire is a good thing, part of being created in the image of a happy God. But most people are seeking happiness from the wrong source, from idols and false gods. As disciples we know the life, love, goodness, care, and joy of the living God, we are invited (and commanded!) by God to be a joyful people whose thoughts, emotions, and faces speak to the abundant life we have in God. Our joy as Christians is driven and fed by the Goodness of God; while the world chases a cheaper happiness in fleeting idols, our joy is always available, because God’s love is never ending. Practice contemplating God’s truths and let them fuel your joy. Practice gratitude by listing things you’re thankful for, or that you see God doing.
“Being joyful isn’t what makes you grateful. Being grateful is what makes you joyful.”
- Ann Voskamp
The Bible calls us deeper into this lifestyle of joy regardless of our personality, temperament, temptations, or past. Through our unique personalities and stories God can display different flavors of joy. We recommend you discuss your journey of joy and what you’re finding helpful for building a habit of happiness. Here are some other recommendations and things to ponder and practice:
• Don’t wait to be happy. God calls us to a joy that is bigger than our circumstances. As Randy Alcorn says (read his book recommended at the end of this chapter!), “Anyone who waits to be happy will never be happy.” Choose right now to be happy in God and in this day that he has made for you.
• Make choices that cultivate joy. We can choose joy. “Rejoice” is a verb. Pay attention to the choice you make and how they help or hinder joy. Both joy and joylessness are states of mind that self-perpetuate.
• Repent your way to happiness. Often the fastest way to happiness is through repentance— repenting of our self focus, or our ingratitude, or our forgetting of God, or whatever it might be.
• Hang out with happy people. Joyful people will rub off on you, hang out with them.
• Obey your way to happiness. God’s commands aren’t burdensome, they are the commands of a loving Father who wants to guide us into abundant life and joy.
• Live with an eternal perspective. Your life on this earth is very short. That “thing” you’re letting get in the way of experiencing joy right now is a minuscule speck on the horizon of eternity. Put things in eternal perspective.
• Take a year to study everything the Bible has to say about joy, happiness, laughter, gratitude, praise, delight, celebration, feasts, dancing, singing, gladness, and making merry.
Take a look at this sermon by Max from 2020 on Habit 10:
Here is the full Habit 10 in the Guidebook to flip through, too:
We also want you to have access to the whole Guidebook if you don’t already, so below is a link to download it. We have a physical Guidebook for you too, so you can scribble down your thoughts and prayers and dive into the resource in a Lifegroup! Join us on Sunday to pick up a copy!