This downloadable worksheet is designed to go with our video assembly series on Changes and Emotions. you can find our assembly videos here.
You can download the worksheet here.
After a couple of weeks exploring some more difficult emotions like agner and sadness, we’ve come to an emotion that we think most of us want to feel most of the time: Joy!
But is joy really all that simple? Well, the answer is yes and no.
You see, joy is actually a bit trickier to explain than you might think. We might hear ‘joy’ and think ‘happiness’, but the real meaning of joy is a little different. Happiness often depends on our happenings. Whether it’s a good day or a bad day, whether good things come our way or bad things. We feel happy when things are good, and we don’t feel happy when things are difficult. But the Bible tells us we can have joy that lasts, that sticks around even during times when happiness seems impossible.
The Bible says that God is the reason for our joy. hen we have a bad day, Christians know that we can pour out all our frustrations and sadness to Him, and that His love for us hasn’t changed just because of our rotten day.
When we go through times of real difficulty and stress, when we and our loved ones find life painful and overwhelming, we can still have a deep joy amidst the worst of circumstances by remembering that God sees and understands, and that a time with no hardships or sorrow is promised.
When we feel most alone, Christians can still find joy when we remember that God has promised to never leave us.
Joy is like a deep current of water that doesn’t get affected by the wind and waves on the surface. Things might be choppy on top, but deep below there is peace and stillness.
So, does joy have to be complicated? No! For Christians its as simple as trusting God to keepHis promises. It’s about finding joy in the things and people around us. We can find joy in our lives by taking notice of those things that bring real happiness to us.
Use this worksheet to note down some of the things, people or places that bring you that deep sense of joy. You might like to fill each polaroid picture oer the span of a week, challenging yourself to keep your heart and eyes open for joyful things throught the week.
Draw a picture of the thing that brings you joy, write down what it is about it that brings you joy.
Maybe you could thank God for the things that give you joy, and ask Him to help you be aware of where to find real joy, not just fleeting happiness.