Joy, Found in a Box

Do you ever find yourself beset with this inexplicable, unsettled feeling that tips your sense

of joy and wellbeing off kilter? I’m not talking about stop-you-in-your-tracks anxiety or biological depression that warrants medication, but simply a feeling that your normally full cup of joy is half empty.

I’ve been there a few times and even experienced this strange soul-droop one morning last week as I walked from the parking lot into the church where I work. The niggling glumness planted itself just beneath the surface of my outward cheerful smile and stayed there all morning. Even after I dug deep in my heart and identified the seed of disappointment for what it was, the gloom still remained.

Later in the day, after folding a bunch of baptism T-shirts, I went on a hunt for some boxes to put the T-shirts in. I found the boxes, and I also found one of my favorite books left in a pile of items to be donated. I’m so grateful I did. 😊 

Curious about what truths the original owner found fascinating, I took that treasured book back to my desk and thumbed through the pages, looking for highlighted sections or passages.

Words were circled and sentences starred. Short paragraphs were underlined with blue and black ink—some were even double-lined to mark the remarkable. To my amazement, it seemed as if those spotlighted words were meant just for me and for what was going on in my heart. And I wondered… after having read this book twenty-six times over four years, how could I have forgotten the truth that lay before me now? Why had I forgotten? Had God planted author Ann Voskamp’s book there in that pile of discards so that my cares could be transformed to trust? Yes, I believed it to be true because there it was, written right there in the scripture and in the author’s unfolding discovery before me—exactly what I needed to remember.

Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand Gifts and the devotional of the same name, writes:

“Worry is the façade of taking action when prayer really is. An untroubled heart relaxes, trusts, leans assured into His ever-dependable arms. Trust, it’s the antithesis of stress. “Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord” (Psalm 40:4 NLT). But how to trust like that? Can trust be conjured up simply by sheer will, on command? I can’t fill with joy until I learn how to trust. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow” Romans 15:13 (NIV). The full life, the one spilling joy and peace, happens only as I come to trust the caress of the Lover.”

And Jesus tells us in John 6:29 (AMP)

"Jesus replied, 'This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger.'"

My daily work is to trust in the Son even when it’s hard work, even when worrying sometimes seems easier. But isn’t joy worth the effort of trusting God and keeping our eyes fixed on Him?”

When joy feels far off and your heart sinks, remember, trusting God isn’t passive. It’s work. It’s a daily decision, a humble act of handing over what we cannot control and inviting God into our unmet expectations. He's waiting to refill us with His overflowing peace.

30-Second Takeaways:

• Reflect: What half-empty moments need a trust-reset today?

• Reclaim: What passage or quote have you forgotten—hidden in the routine—that could speak life?

• Respond: Quote Romans 15:13 every morning; fold your cares into prayer.

Thank you for reading. If this spoke to your heart, I’d love for you to share it with someone who might need a gentle reminder: sometimes the most profound faith is found in the quietest steps.