How not to be miserable?

Misery is such an easy emotion to be disdainful of. We all know that misery is not a good thing, and that happy people are so much better off. During church today, I was challenged about how the Christian should experience joy. As I reflected upon this throughout the remainder of the day, I reached several important conclusions. In my past, I was really good at finding misery. I might have even pretty good at finding happiness. I was really bad at finding joy. In fact, I am still not that good at finding joy. I, like many beleivers, am often focused on avoiding things that can cause us spiritual misery. While it is good to avoid those things that make us miserable, it often can become our focus. God is certainly pleased when we discontinue things that separate us from Him, but how much more pleased will He be when we have dispatched those demons and begun to focus on building toward His all encompassing joy. This is done through loving his people. This is not always easy, as a very large percentage of His people might be defective. This makes it hard for us who are critical by nature . I have a major weakness in finding joy, as I often look at the compliance checklist of things to do and not to do. When we are truly seeking Christ's joy, we will not need a litmus test to see what is right and what is wrong. We will know because we have His True Joy. How not to be miserable may be the wrong question. How about this- How do we experience God's joy? God is not a God who operates in the negative. Lord, help me to find joy in You and in fellowship with your people.