THE LINC COLLECTIVE

Your Joy Is Your Job: A Defiant Delight in Difficult Days

In a world saturated with anxiety and heaviness, joy is not just a feeling—it is a flame God intends to keep burning within us. “Your Joy Is Your Job,” joy is not a luxury item of faith. It is the spiritual grit that empowers us to rise, rebuild, and rejoice—no matter what life throws at us.

Let’s be honest. Many people associate deep faith with solemn faces and serious tones. But heaven begs to differ. The language of the Kingdom is joy. Jesus, facing the imminent betrayal and brutality of the cross, actually paused to pray joy over us (John 17:13). Nehemiah declared, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10)—not when he was relaxing in peacetime but while enemies raged outside Jerusalem’s walls and the city was still in ruins.

This is not a soft joy. This is a *defiant joy*—a joy that builds while others back down, that lifts while life leans heavy. It is strength. It is strategy. It is spiritual warfare. It is how we “praise our way through” instead of complaining our way out.

What if joy is a job we cannot outsource? What if it’s not our spouse’s job, not our pastor’s, not our politicians’—but yours and mine? Maggie, the woman Tom referenced in his message, danced with joy that offended the religious spirit in others, but it also exposed their lack. And as Rory Dyer said, “Never let the opinions of man determine your dance before God.”

If we learn to choose joy the way we refuel our cars or schedule a crucial meeting. This isn’t emotional faking—it’s spiritual formation.

“They ate. They drank. And they were happy.” (1 Kings 4:20)

The Israelites under Solomon weren’t perfect, but they were living in the fullness of the Kingdom—peace on all sides, joy at the table, provision in the land. Contentment was their climate. But this wasn’t passive comfort; it was an active decision. Like the original Hebrew suggests, contentment is a verb. It’s not felt; it’s chosen. Right now, even in your present tension or trial, you can choose joy. Not because everything is easy, but because Jesus is enough.

We chase joy like it’s out there—“when this season ends… when my burden lifts…” But joy doesn’t begin someday. Joy begins *with a decision.* The Apostle Paul wrote from prison: “Whatever happens… rejoice.” That’s real. That’s honest. And that’s available.

Here’s three anchors for reclaiming joy are worth tattooing on our hearts:

1. Choose Contentment – Happiness changes with headlines. Joy remains because it is rooted in God’s goodness, not perfect conditions.

2. Find Your Vine – In the heat of life, find the things that bring you relief and restoration. Whether it’s walks in nature, worship in your car, laughter over a meal with friends—don’t wait for a vacation to start tending your soul.

3. Leave a Legacy – You were not saved to survive. You were called to serve. Joy multiplies when we give it away. When we make our lives about others, joy surprises us in the giving.

Your life is a seed. It can either be swallowed by the moment or sown into eternity. David fought so Solomon could feast. Easy Eddie sacrificed his reputation so his son could rise as a hero. Even Jesus—who endured the cross because of the joy set before Him—chose to trade His life so we could inherit a kingdom of peace on all sides.

Every battle you win, every tear you sow, every joyful decision you make creates a spiritual inheritance for those who come after. Joy is not only a personal resistance; it is a generational promise.

So let grace fill your lungs again. Let laughter return. Let singing rise up. Make your life a dance floor God delights in. The days are dark, the drag is real—but heaven is louder. And jo yis still your job.

“Today I set before you life and death… now choose life, so that you and your descendants may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Choose joy. Raise your praise. Build something that outlives you.