As Christians, we know we are supposed to be joyful in all circumstances. However, many of us struggle to find joy even in favorable circumstances.
Jeff Spadafora says joy isn’t something that happens by accident.
“Joy is actually complex. I would have loved to have written a cute little fifteen-page book with the ten steps to happiness, you just do this and everything is hunky dory. It’s not as simple as a happy little pamphlet.”
Joy is the result of a life that is intentionally aligned to with God over the long term.
“The challenge is that people don’t stick with it. It’s like anything. There’s too many people out there who set a goal and they just give up when the going gets tough. The fact of the matter is the pathway to joy will require some adjustments on both the spiritual side and the practical side, the being and the doing.”
“We find out, this is hard and I’d rather go back to the comfort zone. My life isn’t fantastic, but it’s certainly not horrible. I don’t know why I even started down this path, I’m just going to slide back to the comfort zone again.”
Jeff believes that we can overcome the obstacles of true joy if we walked the walk instead of just talking the talk.
“People like to talk about peace, joy, purpose, and balance more than they like to work for it.”
Do we have to work for God’s joy? Isn’t that legalism?
“In some ways you do, grace is free, but you have to go do something with it. You have to grow in it. You have to apply it to different parts of your life which may be uncomfortable.”
Jeff Spadafora is the Director of the Halftime Institute’s Global Coaching Services and Product Development, where he trains and manages the global Halftime Coaching staff. He lives in Evergreen, Colorado with his wife Michelle and three children.
The Joy Model
