Return to Joy – In 90 Seconds
In 15 seconds, this is how I share my testimony: There was once a time in my life when I was anxious and fearful of death, then Jesus came into my life and freed me. Now, I experience peace and am confident in my identity in Christ.
My husband is very involved in evangelism ministry and shares basic evangelism tools that are taught by No Place Left. [1] One of the most basic tools is how to share your testimony in 15 seconds or less with this basic outline:
“There was a time in my life when I was [adjective 1] and [adjective 2]. Then I met Jesus, put my trust in Him, and made Him number one in my life. Now I am [adjective 3] and [adjective 4]. Do you have a story like this?”
This quick teaser allows you to gauge the listener’s interest in a non-offensive way. On top of this, sharing my testimony brings joy because I am reminded of God’s faithfulness in my life.
Mastering these tools is helpful because you can use them at a moment’s notice. They become so automatic that you don’t have to consciously think about the tool, but can use them naturally when engaging with people.
This is how fluent I would like to become in returning to joy after experiencing a difficult emotion. In Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits For Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead, Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder explain four elements of leadership that increase effectiveness and are founded in brain science. [2]
RARE stands for:
- Remain relational
- Act like yourself
- Return to joy
- Endure hardship
Marcus Warner is a Bible teacher and pastor and is currently serving as president of Deeper Walk International. [3] Dr. Jim Wilder works at the intersection of theology and neuroscience at Life Model Works and has found that relational joy is at the center of thriving and recovery. [4]
While all four elements of RARE leadership are essential, returning to joy especially stood out as the part I want to explore further because of it’s critical importance in leadership. Warner and Wilder say it this way, “Returning to joy may just be the most important habit you can develop as a leader.” [5]
We all feel a wide variety of emotions, but Warner and Wilder outline the Big Six emotions that can interrupt our joy: anger, fear, hopeless despair, disgust, sadness, and shame. However, a well-trained brain can return to joy in a quick 90 seconds or less. [6] Of these Big Six emotions, I most frequently experience anger or fear. Fear usually doesn’t sit with me that long, but I have let anger linger much longer than I’d like to admit. I have come to realize that anger (which often turns to bitterness), is a choice. We can choose to stay angry at a situation, person, or institution, or we can choose to walk in the freedom that Christ has given us. Warner and Wilder encourage their readers to walk in the victory Christ has given us so we can be freed from the bondage that so easily traps us. Part of this is making a decision in the moment to lay down the negative emotion and choose to meditate on joy instead. But some emotions are so rooted in past experiences that they are a bondage that needs to be broken. While there are many resources on walking in freedom, I have found an exercise called The Great Exchange to be incredibly helpful. [7] In The Great Exchange, the person who is experiencing some sort of bondage will do an inventory of that bondage, trying to understand where it started and how it took root in their lives. Then, they will spend time with the Lord and visualize a physical representation of the bondage. In their minds’ eye, they will hold it in their hands and give it to Christ. Following a surrender of the bondage, they will ask Jesus to give them something in return. This exchange can bring incredible freedom and deepen one’s identity in Christ.
This week’s reading reminded me of the gift it is to choose joy over anger and fear.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15, NIV)
References
[1] No Place Left. “NPL Gospel Tools,” n.d. https://noplaceleft.net/tools/.
[2] Warner, Marcus, and Jim Wilder. Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits For Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2016.
[3] Deeper Walk International. “Our President – Marcus Warner,” n.d. https://deeperwalk.com/our-president-marcus-warner/.
[4] Life Model Works. “Dr. E James Wilder,” n.d. https://lifemodelworks.org/jim-wilder/.
[5] Warner and Wilder, 159.
[6] Warner and Wilder, 16.
[7] “Great Exchanges,” n.d. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_YPtTOM6AB396OWJ5Q9zwuwHSlxCeJyasP9K5K_YpO8/edit?tab=t.0.
About the Author
Christy
10 responses to “Return to Joy – In 90 Seconds”
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Hi Christy, Thanks for your blog, I am also interested in the power of joy.
What suggestions for how to ‘return to joy’ did you find most helpful in the Rare Leadership this week?
Julie
Hi Julie – one thing that I have experienced is spiritual bondage that can be a blocker of joy. I appreciated the reference to Neil T. Anderson who teaches on breaking spiritual bondages. Have you ever read any of his books?
Christy,
Thanks I need to be reminded to return to joy. There are times when I find myself being cynical and complaining about things that I cannot control.
What are things that bring you the most joy in your life? Can you incorporate joy into your 15 second testimony?
When I think about the bondage the Lord has broken in my family’s life, I am filled with incredible gratitude and joy. I will sometimes share this with people in a testimony format, but it probably requires at least a minute!
Hi Christy, Thank you for sharing the Great Exchange.While surrendering things about ourselves that could be hurtful for us or our sinfulness to Christ has always be a part of my internal dialogue, I had not heard it the way you explained it. As a parent how do you inspire your children to find joy rather than settle into fear?
Hi Diane, I wish I knew the secret sauce to helping my children find joy over fear, but we’re still practicing trial and error! We try to remember the things we are thankful for as a practice, but it’s not a silver bullet!
Hi Christy, My brain needs a bit more training. I am not quite at a 90-second turnaround. However, I am growing in not letting the “Big Six” get the best of me. I have experienced the most growth in this area in Africa. If we don’t return to joy, we are done for. I appreciate your thoughts on being freed from bondage. Also, thank you for being transparent with your feelings of fear and anger. I can relate. Regarding returning to joy, can you pinpoint a time in your life when you thought, “I have a choice on how I react, and I choose joy?” Or has it been something that has subtly grown?
Hi Elysse – the Lord has recently been making me aware of the choice I have to choose bitterness or joy. This most often comes up in the relationships that are closest to me (like in my family). As I’ve started to recognize this, I have noticed that it’s a daily choice, and the Lord is teaching me how to renew my mind and take every thought captive (2 Cor 10).
Christy, I love this article. Thanks for your openness in sharing your own journey. I love the evangelism model, and I think you’re right: being able to return to joy without trying all that hard is a critical skill because it helps us stay relational, it helps us deal with difficulties, and it helps us act like ourselves (the other three skills).
As an Enneagram specialist, I know that most often when someone starts to feel angry (especially consistently), it’s when they feel like their agency has been thwarted. As you develop practices to help you return to joy more easily (and they are different for all of us), I invite you to consider moments when you feel like your sense of agency is threatened. I could be completely wrong, of course; so I’d be curious to know if that resonates with you at all. 🙂
Thank you Debbie! I’ll be on the lookout for that!