Choosing Joy...Finding Strength

     You may have heard the old saying, "Each day is a gift...that's why it is called the present." There is truth in that statement. Every day that we wake up is a gift from God. However...it is up to us to make the most of it.
     Okay...I know what you're thinking, sure I can make the most of a good day, but what about those pesky bad days? Everyone has bad days. You know what I mean...those times when nothing just seems to go right. Maybe you're having one of those days today. Let me give you a little scenario so you understand what I'm talking about:

     First things first...your alarm did not go off this morning. (Or if you're like me, you may have accidentally turned it off when you were half asleep...oops!) Anyway, you wake up to a text from your friend that says, "WHERE ARE YOU?" You jump out of bed, but now you have just enough time to get dressed, brush your teeth, throw that hair under a hat, and get to class.
     Now, let me just say...I'm the kind of person who likes to get up and have plenty of time to get ready. I prefer to be EARLY to class--not just on time--so when something like this happens to me it 's just not a good start to my day.
     Okay...so you made it out the door and on your way to class. You probably think the worst is over now, right? WRONG. It's raining...not just drizzling. Pouring! Annnd you didn't have time to grab your umbrella...or a jacket...oh, and you're wearing flip flops. Great. But wait...there's more!
     Picture this...your waiting at the bus stop. You wait....and wait....and it's still raining....and you keep waiting. No bus. Only one option now...walk to class. So you're walking and walking and you finally see a bus! Yes! You run up to the nearest bus stop just in time to.........watch the bus race on past you and splash that enormous puddle on you. Not cool. Now you're soaked...should you give up, skip class, and just call it a day? No...because you already used up all your skips for this class.
     You make it to class. You're a little late, but you slip in and think everything is cool. You can sit in class, dry off from the rain, and relax...until your classmate says those dreaded words...
     "Ready for the test?
      And you're like, "TEST!? What test?"

     Sound familiar to you? We all have those bad days. Sometimes we might even have a bad week.  You might even being going through a "bad storm." That's the really hard stuff that we have to endure while we are living here on earth. One trial comes your way after another and all you can do is pray to get through it. As a friend of mine once said...it's these times when you're left saying, "What else is going to go wrong?" BUT you keep on going! Why? Because with every storm we face God has a purpose--to teach us something..to show us something...to prepare us for something. Just knowing that can really help when a storm hits. How do you make it through? Well, it's not easy. You pray. You read encouraging scripture. You pray again. Overall...you fully rely on God. You put your worries in his hands, leave your burdens at the cross, and CHOOSE JOY.

     Choosing joy is absolutely crucial to overcoming a bad day, a bad week, and especially a bad storm. It kind of sounds like an oxymoron...choosing to be joyful when you're going through so many trials that make you want to be anything but joyful. Crazy, right? Nope. It makes sense if you think about it from a Biblical standpoint. Check out this verse from chapter eight in the book of Nehemiah:

     Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (ESV)

     JOY. The joy of the Lord is our strength. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary one definition of joy is "a source or cause of delight." As Christians our source of constant and true joy is God. Regardless of what we may be going through in our daily lives, we can choose to be joyful in Christ! We must choose to rely on the joy of the Lord to be our strength in these times of trouble and heartache if we want any relief. No, choosing joy is not a magic trick to make all our worries and problems go away instantly. Yet, by choosing the joy of God...we do three things: we help our selves, we help others, and most importantly, we glorify God.

Okay...why don't we break this down?

1. We help ourselves:
     This one is kind of simple. I mean if your inevitably going to have a bad day now and then...would you rather sulk through it or put on a smile and try to laugh your way through it. :) As the verse in Nehemiah says, choosing to be joyful in Christ despite any trials we are experiencing will give us the strength we need. We are not to be discouraged. Yes, it's natural to feel upset or even angry, but we cannot allow those negative feelings to overtake us. Now when I say "Choose joy" I'm not just saying "Don't worry. Be happy!" It's much more than that. Though similar, joy and happiness are not exactly interchangeable. Happiness is a feeling, an emotion. Our feelings come and go; they are effected or changed by what is going on around us and what is happening to us. Joy--as in the true joy of the Lord--is something that should be constant and unchangeable in us no matter what emotions we may be feeling at any given time. How? God is constant and unchangeable...and if He is our source of joy than we can always be joyful knowing that God is going to take care of us.
     In Corinthians 4:8-12 it says, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you." (ESV)

2. We help others:
     Our personal decision to be joyful is an way that we can witness to others. That joy will shine out of you and make people wonder what's different about you. If someone knows you are going through a rough time and yet they see you being joyful, they might be inspired to do the same. They may even ask you, why are you so happy? Now, there's a chance to witness to someone about the joy that they too can find in Christ alone. As the lyrics of one of my favorite old hymns say, "In Christ alone my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm."

3. We glorify God:
     Finally, choosing joy is our way of saying "God, I trust you. I'm not sure why I'm going through this rough time, but I'm choosing to rely on the joy that only You can give me to be my strength right now." When we do that, God will give us a joy and peace that passes our own understanding. Instead of grumbling about our problems, we need to focus on what God is trying to teach us through them.


     Overall...choosing joy is the best option to combating our problems. One thing I've learned is that worrying will not change ANYTHING. It only robs you of your strength. (And trust me...when you face a storm you will need all the strength you can get.) Many of my favorite movies are in the Love Comes Softly series. If you've never watched them you do not know what you are missing out on. They are amazing! Throughout the continuing story in these movies the main characters face many different storms and must learn to trust in God's greater plan for their lives. They rely on His unchanging joy to be their strength. The following are two of my very favorite quotes from this series that convey this message:

Love's Enduring Promise:
Willie: "Speaking of God...what did your pa mean by His enduring promise?"
Missy: "That someday, He'll wipe away all our tears...that all pain and suffering and heartache will be gone. You know, that evening when we were all together feeling joyful that Pa wasn't in pain, you helped give us a glimpse of that promise."

Love Comes Softly:
Clark: "The truth of God's love is not that he allows bad things to happen. It's His promise that He'll be here with us when they do."

     We can be joyful because of God's enduring promise to us: that He will always be with us and that our suffering will not last forever. In Psalm 30:5 it says, "For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." (NIV) Now that's a promise we can stand on! CHOOSE JOY TODAY!

Keep learning!

Grace & Peace,
Sam (The Hat Girl)