Originally Published Dec. 2024

“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” – John 15:11 (NLT)

What if joy is closer than you think?

We all want to experience joy, but sometimes it can feel just out of reach. Life gets busy, circumstances become difficult, and seasons of anxiety, depression, or disappointment can leave us wondering where our joy has gone. Even when we’re following Jesus, we can find ourselves longing for a joy that seems difficult to experience.

But what if that longing is actually pointing us toward something beautiful?

In this episode of Doable Discipleship, Jason Wieland talks with author and pastor Alistair Sterne about his book Longing for Joy and what it means to recognize, cultivate, and experience the joy of the Lord. Together, they explore why joylessness happens, how our longing for joy draws us toward God, and how the beauty of creation, our relationships, and our everyday experiences can become opportunities to encounter God’s goodness.

They also discuss the surprising connection between joy and the Trinity, why joy doesn’t always look like happiness, and how learning to see other people as occasions for joy can transform our relationships.

In this episode, we explore:

* Why we experience seasons of joylessness and how to recognize what’s contributing to them
* How our longing for joy can draw us into a deeper relationship with God
* What Scripture reveals about the joy of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
* How to recognize God’s goodness and experience joy through creation and everyday moments
* Why relationships are essential to cultivating joy and how we can become people who bring joy to others
* Practical habits that help us become more attentive to the joy already present in our lives

Joy is a gift from God, and learning to experience it is part of our ongoing journey of following Jesus. As we become more attentive to God’s presence, more grateful for His gifts, and more intentional in our relationships, we can begin to recognize opportunities for joy all around us.

The invitation is to pay attention, draw near to Jesus, and discover the joy that comes from living in His presence.

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.ivpress.com/longing-for-joy

Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuw...)

Intro Music:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Track: Escape From The Town by SHANTI
https://tunetank.com/track/267-escape...

Outro Music:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Track: Peace by VictorWayne
https://tunetank.com/track/5040-peace/

What do you do when simply getting through everyday life feels like a burden?

We live in a time when anxiety, depression, loneliness, and other mental health struggles are increasingly common. While we may be more willing to talk about these struggles than previous generations, many people still feel isolated in what they’re experiencing. And when suffering doesn’t have an easy solution, it can be tempting to wonder whether things will ever get better.

In this episode of Doable Discipleship, Jason talks with Dr. Alan Noble, author of On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living, about what it means to live faithfully in the midst of mental and emotional struggles.

Alan reminds us that two things can be true at the same time: life can be incredibly difficult, and life can still be a beautiful gift from God. Our suffering is real, but it does not get the final word.

In this episode, we explore:

* Why anxiety, depression, and other mental health struggles resonate with so many people today
* How different generations approach conversations about mental health
* The difference between healthy vulnerability and oversharing
* Why suffering is not always a problem we can simply “fix”
* How to care well for someone experiencing mental or emotional struggles
* Why community is so important when we’re suffering
* How to move toward healing without pretending the struggle isn’t real
* What it means to believe that your life is a gift from a God who knows you completely and loves you

There may be seasons when hope feels difficult to hold onto. But our struggles are not the end of the story. Healing is real, God is present, and even in the midst of suffering, your life remains a gift worth receiving.

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Out-Bed-Burden-Living/dp/1514004437/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0

https://www.amazon.com/Live-Well-Practical-Through-Chaotic/dp/1514002248/]

Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuw...)

Intro Music:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Track: Escape From The Town by SHANTI
https://tunetank.com/track/267-escape...

Outro Music:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Track: Peace by VictorWayne
https://tunetank.com/track/5040-peace/

What does it mean to live faithfully when life feels heavy?

Life is a gift, but that doesn’t mean it always feels like one. We experience beauty, joy, relationships, and moments of deep meaning alongside anxiety, disappointment, grief, uncertainty, and seasons when simply making it through the day can feel exhausting.

In this episode of Doable Discipleship, Jason explores the tension between the burden and the gift of living. Rather than offering easy answers or pretending that faith makes the difficult parts of life disappear, this conversation considers how we can honestly acknowledge the weight we carry while remaining open to the goodness, grace, and presence of God.

In this episode, we explore:

* Why life can feel like both a burden and a gift
* How our faith makes room for the full range of human experience
* What to do when anxiety, sadness, or difficulty feel overwhelming
* Why acknowledging struggle is different from surrendering to hopelessness
* How to recognize goodness even in difficult seasons
* What it looks like to receive life as a gift without minimizing its pain

Following Jesus doesn’t require us to pretend everything is okay. Instead, we can learn to hold joy and sorrow, beauty and brokenness, gratitude and grief together—and discover that God is present with us in all of it.

Doable Discipleship is a podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland.

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Out-Bed-Burden-Living/dp/1514004437/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0

Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuw...)

Intro Music:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Track: Escape From The Town by SHANTI
https://tunetank.com/track/267-escape...

Outro Music:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Track: Peace by VictorWayne
https://tunetank.com/track/5040-peace/

• (00:01) - INTRO
• (01:42) - Marker 02
• (03:26) - INTERVIEW
• (06:50) - PRAYER
• (32:31) - Marker 01