Joyce Meyer - Enjoy Your Life (08/21/2019)
Joyce Meyer calls believers to enjoy life now instead of waiting with "I'll be glad when"—stop self-focused negativity from past hurts, embrace childlike joy, receive forgiveness quickly, enjoy God, yourself, people, and possessions intentionally, shift focus from flaws to blessings, and refuse to let circumstances or others steal your joy.
Stop Waiting – Get Glad Now
We need to stop saying, I'll be glad when, and get glad now. Amen? Now, I'm very serious about what I'm saying. I've spent so many years not enjoying my life. I never got to be a child. My dad started abusing me when I was very young, and we lived in a total atmosphere of fear. And I just basically had my childhood stolen. So, as an adult, I did not have a healthy child in me. And I think that we need that. I don't care how old you are. You need to have some childlikeness.
Restore Childlike Joy – Enjoy Life Fully
And there was such a vast difference between Dave and I, because he seemed to be able to enjoy everything that he did, even if a lot of it was at my expense. But I was so intense about everything, because I grew up just trying to survive every day. And see, it took me a long time in my life. Now, listen up. It took me a long time in my life that Jesus died so we could enjoy every aspect of our lives. And a lot of it is a mindset.
It's just like... I mean, a lot of people just automatically think, well, they couldn't possibly enjoy going to work. They couldn't possibly enjoy cleaning the house, or cutting the grass, or changing the oil in the car, or going to the grocery store. But I tell you what, you can enjoy whatever you decide to enjoy. Because the point is, is number one, the number one goal in our life, matter of fact, a great woman of God who lived in the 1600s named Madame Guyon said that the high call on our life is to learn to enjoy God. Come on. Not even just to serve God, but to enjoy God.
Enjoy God – Be Comfortable with Him
And to enjoy God, you've got to be comfortable with God. Amen? Not afraid of Him, or feeling like every time you make a wrong move, He's going to punish you, but to enjoy God. And the way that you can enjoy everything you do, whatever it is, is if you do it with and for God. Amen? Now, come on. I'm trying to help you enjoy your life a little more.
Now, secondly, if you want to enjoy your life, you've got to enjoy yourself. Hmm. That went over good. I said this yesterday morning, but I feel compelled to say it again this morning. I think a lot of people just, they don't pay any attention to what kind of relationship they have with themselves. So how do you feel about yourself? Do you like yourself? Do you love yourself in a balanced way? Do you appreciate the gifts that God has given you?
Stop Comparing – Appreciate Your Gifts
How much time do you waste comparing yourself to other people? Do you only think about what's wrong with you? Or do you ever sit and think, you know, I'm good at this. I'm good at this. God's gifted me at this. Learn how to enjoy yourself because God enjoys you. Amen? Now, here we go. Enjoy the people in your life. And I realize there are people that are hard to be around. I'm not talking about the people that annoy you at work and that kind of stuff.
I'm talking about, you know, if you're married, enjoy the person you're married to. And the only way you're going to be able to do that is if you stop focusing on everything that's wrong with them. And you actually purposely think about the things that are a blessing to you. I've actually sat down and made a list of things that I really, really, really like about Dave. Well, I spent the first 20 years of our marriage only thinking about what I didn't like and what I wanted to see God change in him so I could be happy.
Don't Give Others Your Joy Responsibility
All right, now I'm going to say something important. Stop giving somebody else the responsibility for your joy. That was worth your trip. And even when you get married, don't get married with the expectation, now, you're supposed to keep me happy. Because that may happen sometimes, but sometimes it may not happen. And so, you need to make a decision to be happy and live your life to make somebody else happy. And then God will take care of your joy. Amen.
In every relationship, there's going to be things that you don't like. And if you focus on those things, then you will miss the things that you do like. Amen. And when you talk to your friends and other people, don't talk about the people in your life. Don't talk about everything you don't like. Well. Well, I wish. Well, I wish. You know, wishing is a total waste of time. It's just completely useless.
Focus on Blessings – Not Flaws
Take what you've got in life and kick the devil in the behind and let God teach you how to enjoy what you're... Now, that doesn't mean that people don't need changing. That doesn't mean that there's not things that we don't like. I'm not... We've all got things that we don't like. I'm talking about not focusing on them. Because what we focus on is what becomes larger and larger and larger.
Do you know that a lot of people end up getting divorces simply because all they focus on is what they don't like about the person they're married to. Amen. Amen. I was talking to a lady in another state a few months ago and she had a couple of teenage kids and her and her husband had gotten a divorce and it really had the kids all messed up and the lady was having all kinds of problems and she recognized me from being on TV. I was in a hotel and so, you know, she asked if she could talk to me and so I sat down with her for a few minutes.
Incompatible? – Enjoy What's There
And I said, So, can you tell me, you know, why did you guys get a divorce? I'm thinking there must have been some huge problem here. And she said, Well, you know, we're just incompatible. And I said, who's not? That is the dumbest reason to get a divorce that I've ever heard in my life. Amen. Because people like that are looking for somebody just like them. The problem is they don't even like who they are. So even if they married somebody just like them, they wouldn't like that either.
Next thing I want to say is Let me see. What was the next thing on my list? I got it in order so I could behave this morning. Okay. Enjoy what you own. Huh? You know, we strive so hard to get stuff and then half the time we don't even know where we put it. You can work so hard to buy a home and to decorate it right and then if you're not careful you can end up resenting it because you have to pay for it and clean it.
Appreciate Your Possessions – Slow Down
Sometimes I walk around my house purposely and just look at it and just think I really like my house. I really like the way I've got it decorated. I like the paint on the walls. I like the view outside my window. And I'm suggesting that you actually take the time to do that. That you actually just stop rushing through every second of life to the point where you're just so frustrated all the time.
Let's stop and take the time to actually take in what God has done for us in our lives. Let's be excited because we're going to heaven. Let's be excited because Jesus is coming soon. Amen?