If we’re driving, we need to know how much gas is in the tank. When we’re serving, it can be equally helpful to look at how much joy is in our tank!

Let’s do a self-check. Do you look forward to those tasks that involve serving others? Is your cheerfulness genuine or something you wear like a mask? How often does your temper get short? When tasks are difficult, are you still able to find reasons for joy and gratitude?

For many of us, the tank is nearer to empty than full. Even though we smile and are cheerful, if we’re honest, there’s not much real, deep joy in what we do.

If you could use a little more joy in your serving, consider these suggestions:

• Read Where’s the Joy? There may be underlying issues you may need to address.
• If exhaustion is destroying your joy, look at the big picture and simplify your serving as necessary.
• Be the joy. As you serve with others, do something to make it more interesting and more fun. Bring a snack; wear a silly hat; tell a knock-knock joke; play music. When you aim to increase others’ joy, you increase your own, too.
• Right now, take a moment to praise God. Repeat daily. Each time you think of a reason to praise him, you’re thinking of a reason to be joyful.
• In the same way, increase your daily time with your Lord. Read scripture that remind you of his grace. (A list is included at the end of Where’s the Joy?

God’s grace is free and abundant and utterly amazing. It’s greater than the long list of circumstances that dampen our joy.  Only God’s grace fills our joy tank so full that it overflows to those around us. They’re hungry for joy, too.

This post is the fourth and final of a series. The first post, Get Off the Couch!, includes inks to the full series.