Finding Joy Amid Struggles: Biblical Wisdom for Tough Times
It was a month after I’d graduated from college. With two degrees and the ambition to change the world, I beamed from ear to ear. Yet, in the pit of my abdomen, something felt off. What started as a simple stomach ache quickly turned into weekly ER visits. Six months later, I felt weak, ashamed, and paralyzed. 10+ mental and physical health diagnoses called out my name. My identity was no longer a girl who would change the world, but one who was suffering in it.
Over the last 6 years, I’ve pursued holistic wellness for my mental and physical health. Though I’ve grown weary and tired, I’ve learned that diagnoses like anxiety, depression, endometriosis, and IBS-C don’t define me. They might be conditions I struggle with, but they cannot trump my identity in Christ. This process from weakness to strength to weakness and strength over and over again has taught me how to find joy even amidst life’s greatest challenges.
The Nature of Biblical Joy
Joy, by definition, is not the absence of life’s difficulties. It’s also not happiness. In Disney Pixar’s recent film, Inside Out 2, Joy is depicted as a character who is always pleasant, cheery, and positive. But even Joy reaches her breaking point, sheds some tears, and lashes out in anger when times get too tough to bear. The emotion of “joy” can fluctuate.
Joy in a biblical sense, isn’t necessarily a lasting emotion, but a choice to trust God’s promises despite our circumstances. This is why verses like 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 note: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (NIV). Joy (Chara), is a characteristic of God that He gives to His people. It’s also described as Hedva in Nehemiah 8:10: “...For the joy of the Lord is your strength” (NIV).
The joy that Christians can possess isn’t something we cultivate ourselves. This is why it’s the joy of the Lord that strengthens us. But it’s something Christ can develop in us as we trust in Him.
Finding joy amidst struggles doesn’t mean that our problems will cease to exist. It also doesn’t mean it’ll be easy. But God’s given us His Spirit, His Word, and practical tools here on earth to comfort us during tough times. Each of the resources below are realistic ways to cultivate joy in troubling seasons.
Scripture for Tough Times
When life hits heavy, and trust me, it will, it’s important to remind yourself of God’s Word. Deuteronomy 11:18, Proverbs 3:3, Proverbs 6:21, and Proverbs 7:3 all encourage us to write Scripture on our heart and mind. Why? Because it’s alive and active (Hebrews 4:12), and supersedes circumstance. Reciting Scripture won’t change our circumstances, but it can help change us within them.
When I’m faced with life’s difficulties, some of the most practical ways I remind myself of Scripture (and find joy!) comes through journaling and prayer, gratitude and service, grounding and therapy, and community and worship.
Journaling and Prayer
As a writer, I might be a bit biased, but journaling and prayer help me find practical joy for everyday life. It takes time to build habits, but starting my day with journaling is my prayer to God. Taking time to read and reflect on His Word reminds me that God never changes even when our feelings and circumstances do.
Here’s a quick way you might try this joyful practice:
Ask God to clear your heart and mind.
Acknowledge any difficulties and tell God about them.
Journal a prayer to God before, during, and as you read Scripture.
Close your time by looking for what the Scriptures tell you about who God is (not just what the context of the passage is about).
Gratitude and Service
The second way to find practical joy is through gratitude and service. As a fellow Christian with anxiety and depression, I want to be clear that feeling your emotions and expressing your circumstances to God isn’t sinful. Ignoring your pain, trauma, and mental health struggles while throwing yourself into Christian practices isn’t healthy. Sheila Walsh, author of Praying Women says it this way:
“You can kill yourself with drugs and alcohol and know deep down inside that you’re ruining your life, but you can also kill yourself working for God and think it’s holy.”
God doesn’t want us to practice gratitude and service as a means to escape or ignore our pain. He also doesn’t want us to partake in them to make us right with God. If that were the case, if we could “do enough things for God to be holy,” then Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross wouldn’t have been needed.
1 Corinthians 15:12-17 says it this way: “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (NIV).
But, if we have a healthy view of gratitude—a practice that makes us more aware of our blessings, and serve because we feel led to help others, it can certainly increase joy. Keeping a gratitude journal before bed is a simple practice psychologists and theologians alike believe can reduce depression and increase joy. Not because we’re ignoring our circumstances, but because we’ve told God about them, and this can help rewire healthy coping patterns in our brain.
Grounding Techniques and Therapy
While some might disagree, Christian counselors and therapists alike will tell you that grounding techniques like deep breathing, breath prayers, and focusing on your senses, as learned in therapy, can help you find joy in difficult times. Like any gift God’s given us here on earth, there’s no one-size fits all prescription for mental and physical health struggles. But things like medication, therapy, and grounding can help.
Integrating faith and therapy could look like:
Meditating on a Bible verse that helps you feel centered: Try breathing in through your nose for 4 seconds as you mentally recite the first half of a Bible verse (“When anxiety was great within me”), holding your breath for 4 seconds, and then exhaling through your mouth as you mentally recite the second half of a Bible verse (“Your consolation brought me joy”) (Psalm 94:19).
Getting outside: Try taking a walk in nature (without your phone) and focusing on the beauty around you. Listen to the sounds, identify things with your senses, and pray as you carry along.
Being vulnerable with your therapist (and God): Not everyone will need therapy to cultivate joy, but for those who’ve struggled mentally, it can be especially helpful. Try being open and honest with your therapist, and engage in a prayer together to God about how you’re really feeling/doing.
Cultivating Community and Worship
The final way I like to cultivate joy when life feels heavy is through community and worship. I know what you’re thinking. I’m depressed and want to isolate myself. Life sucks. No one will understand. It’s easy to feel that way, and your feelings are valid. But connecting with others and engaging in worship can help lighten the mood.
Even if you’re feeling sad or frustrated with life’s circumstances, try hanging out with friends, or going to a worship night. It’s not fake to worship when you don’t feel like it, but it does take us to a new level. You’d be surprised what God can do when we step out in obedience to honor Him even when we’re struggling.
There will be times that you need to have solitude with God instead of going out with friends. There will be times that you need to get out of your house and sing at the top of your lungs driving down the highway (especially when life really sucks). Finding joy requires a balance and attunement with the Spirit.
A Call to Find Joy
Friends, finding joy when life gets tough can be hard. But lasting joy doesn’t require us to deny our pain or pretend everything is fine when it’s not. Finding the joy of the Lord that Scripture talks about reminds us to trust in God’s promises even when our circumstances feel chaotic and confusing. Biblical joy is not a fleeting feeling, but an eternal, life-changing perspective. It’s a strength that comes from knowing who God is and who we are in Him despite our earthly hardships.
Through practices like journaling and prayer, gratitude and service, grounding techniques and therapy, and worship and connecting with others, we can cultivate a joy that transcends hardship. The road to healing may be long and windy, but God’s joy is available in every season, providing the strength we need to endure.
Agape, Amber
Amber Ginter is a teacher-turned-author who loves Jesus, her husband Ben, and granola. Growing up Amber looked for faith and mental health resources and found none. Today, she offers hope for young Christians struggling with mental illness that goes beyond simply reading your Bible and praying more. Because you can love Jesus and still suffer from anxiety. You can download her top faith and mental health resources for free to help navigate books, podcasts, videos, and influencers from a faith lens perspective. Visit her website at amberginter.com.