HOW TO MAKE YOUR JOY GIGANTIC

What’s the biggest thing you’ve ever seen? When I lived in Houston, I visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center and saw the enormous Independence Space Shuttle—an entire shuttle sitting atop a Boeing 757! Yet even that pales compared to the Eagle Nebula. Six trillion miles from top to bottom, this vast collection of gas, stars, and stardust stretches our understanding of size and scope.

The prophet Jeremiah said, “Oh Lord, you have made the heavens” (Jeremiah 32:17). Unlike building a house or baking a cake, God needed no materials to create the heavens; they came from Him alone. He is the source of Eagle Nebula and beyond. God is gigantic—and He is also pure joy.

As Dallas Willard said, “Joy is the ultimate word describing God. He is an inexhaustible joy.” Think of how you feel standing before a natural wonder—the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, or a Florida sunset. Time seems to stop, and joy fills your heart. God’s joy, however, is not limited to a few lifetime moments; it’s constant and unending.

Consider a child’s exuberance, saying, “Do it again!” in a loop of happiness. A child wants a relentless encore of anything that brings them joy, and exhausted adults are the only thing that seems to stop them. God is like that child; He joyfully repeats the sunrise and the blooming of flowers every day. He cheers, ‘DO IT AGAIN!’. Our exhaustion and boredom come from a lack of joy, not repetition. God has gigantic joy.

G.K. Chesterton said, “Joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian.” So, how do we tap into this joy in a season filled with challenges? Here are three ways:

  1. Increase your Knowledge of God – The more you know about God, the more you’ll be drawn into His joy. This is why Peter urges us to “grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
  2. Increase your Gratitude to God – Anxiety can suffocate joy, but gratitude breathes life into it. “Rejoice always” (Philippians 4:4-6) is more than a command; it’s a path to joy.
  3. Increase your Excellence for God – Eric Liddell, a gold medalist in the 1924 Olympics, found joy in running, saying, “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” His excellence brought glory to God and filled him with joy. Likewise, whatever we do, doing it well honors God and increases our joy.

God’s joy is boundless and contagious. Let’s embrace this month with childlike delight, growing in knowledge, gratitude, and excellence—all for His glory.