Is your glass half full or half empty?
Take a moment and think about all the issues you are dealing with today. Think about those things that wake you up at night. Consider the "heavy" things that you are dealing with.
It is easy to live with heavy hearts and burdened souls. But it is not how God wants us to live. Consider Paul's closing comments in his first letter to the Thessalonians:
It is easy to live with heavy hearts and burdened souls. But it is not how God wants us to live. Consider Paul's closing comments in his first letter to the Thessalonians:
Be joyful always
Pray continually;
Give thanks in all circumstances,
For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus
The first three statements are deeply interconnected. How can one be joyful always? Only when we are living in continual communion with Christ (pray continually) because when we do we realize that we are not only not alone but the issues we face can be given to the Lord of the Universe. Joy and prayer are inseparable. The more connected we are the more joy we experience. Not because our situations would necessarily merit that joy but because we are connected to the source of joy.
The third command is also key: give thanks in all circumstances. We face real issues: but we are recipients of amazing grace in Jesus as well as His daily grace that shows up in our lives all the time. When you live with thanks - and every one of us who knows Christ has an unlimited list of grace to thank Him for, we cannot easily live with downcast hearts and souls. Thanks puts our situation in perspective.
Paul's final words here are also interesting - "for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It is God's will that we live joyfully, connected and always thankful. That is a daily "game changer."
What is your joy quotient today?
No comments:
Post a Comment