Choosing Joy
The irony of making this post is that I drafted a post… and then it got deleted. In that moment, I had to choose joy. Rather than becoming frustrated, I laughed at the irony of it all.
So, lovely reader, this is take two.
We have a choice when it comes to how we look at the circumstances that we face in life. This isn’t to say that it’s easy to make that choice, but we do have one.
As humans, we are always developing in one area or another and there is always a moment where we are transitioning in one area of life (or sometimes multiple areas of life at once). But how we view our circumstances as we walk through life really does determine how far we are willing to go, how much effort we are willing to put in and how many risks we are willing to take to reach the end goal.
It can be easy to allow worry and anxiety to come in at times when it feels like we don’t have much control. But that’s the issue. Trying to have all of the control does lead to worry and anxiety. Why? Because, ultimately, control is not ours to have. The way things pan out in our lives is up to the Lord. When we relinquish control to Him, there is a peace that follows. It’s a peace that comes in knowing that no matter what happens, God has gone before me and everything will be good because He is in control.
Even if times get tricky, or hard, it’s okay and normal to feel like it’s all a bit too much. But there is a peace in knowing that we don’t need to stay there. We don’t need to make a bed of worry and anxiety and lay in it.
There is a beauty in knowing that, as Christians, we can go before the Lord and tell Him how we feel in those moments. Even in the midst of those hard moments, we can have a joy (that doesn’t make sense to the world) in knowing that whatever happens the Lord is still good & He is still going to be glorified. Because, is that not why we live our lives in the way that we do? So that the Lord may receive all of the glory!
How do I do this practically?
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
It has very little to do with us, and a lot to do with our lives being a reflection of the God that we serve.
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
In all things, we should seek God first. As we seek Him, we are given a guarantee, that everything we need will be added onto us.
