Chosing Joy!

***This is for Cheese, Kristina and anyone else needing a little devotional.

“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!” Philippians 4:4

The author, Paul, is serious about joy, telling us twice in this passage to rejoice! The word “rejoice” means “to practice joy, to take delight in and be glad”. Many times, life makes it impossible to be happy but we need to understand that happiness is not what Paul is calling us to. Happiness is a cheap imitation of true joy and totally dependent on the circumstances of life. Joy, however, is a deeply rooted confidence that God is in control no matter what the circumstances of life may be. Joy is a choice.

Paul’s situation, while writing this letter, could make you wonder why he was even writing about joy, of all things. He was in prison under Roman house arrest, awaiting trial and almost certain execution because of his faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, he tells us to rejoice! Don’t miss this! What Paul is really telling us is a life-changing truth! Our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances. In other words, we cannot always find joy in our circumstances but we can always find joy in the Lord of the circumstances.

You have probably discovered that there is absolutely no way in this world to escape pain, but we can avoid joy. The pursuit of joy is a matter of choice. Our first and most important choice is to come to the only source of true joy - Jesus Christ. We must also choose to rejoice in the midst of every circumstance - good or bad – and keep our focus on God, gladly accepting His plan for our lives. We must choose a joyful perspective. A little boy asked his friend. “Wouldn’t you hate to wear glasses all the time?” "No-o-o," the other boy answered slowly, “not if I had the kind grandma wears. She sees how to fix a lot of things. She sees lots of nice things to do on rainy days and she always sees what you meant to do even if you mess things up! I asked her one day how she could see that way all the time and she said, ‘It is the way I choose to look at things.’ So it must be her glasses." When we choose joy, we are choosing against worry!

by: Mary Southerland
'Girlfriends in God'

Father, when worry gets the best of me, please, help me to see life as You see it and to choose Your perspective instead of my own. Lead me into Your peace as I learn to trust You wholly. In Your son's name, Amen.