HOW TO CHOOSE JOY IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES
Many of you may be asking is it even possible to choose Joy in ALL circumstances? Well, I think the answer is Yes!! You may also be asking what in the world does this picture have to do with choose JOY, well I can’t wait to share 🙂 I will start out by saying, the only authority that I have on speaking about this topic is that I have endured much disappointment and heartache in life and have determined that choosing Joy despite our circumstances is truly the best way to live. There is even a book called Choose Joy by Kay Warren. As we face complications, difficulties, roadblocks in life, we have two choices, we can become angry and bitter or we can pray about it and choose joy, knowing our Joy comes from the Lord.
Scripture tells us what the fruits of the spirit are – Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Do you see what the number 2 is? Yes, it is Joy. Out of 9 fruits of the spirit, Joy is listed as #2, so it is important.
I started writing this on Tuesday as I really felt like during my prayer and meditation time Tuesday morning The Holy Spirit was leading me in this direction. I always ask God to reveal to me what to post on a daily basis. To place on my heart if there are other things (not coupon related) that I need to post besides our morning devotional on FB and this is what I felt led to do. I had planned on it only taking a day or two to tweak and post, but all kind of crazy things started happening. On Wednesday, the beginning of Kroger Mega Event (my busiest day) my computer crashed not just once, or even twice, but YES, three times. I had so much traffic, my site crashed and in addition, I lost my computer database temporarily so I couldn’t even find what coupons were available. Josiah’s carpet arrived for his bedroom, which was the wrong carpet, and the list goes on and on and on (as many of you have dealt with too). By this time my patience was wearing thin (well maybe completely gone LOL) and by Friday I was “ouchy”. Jamie was out taking pictures for me to post deals, but instead he kept texting me asking me questions and I text back “YOU ARE BUGGING ME!” (so you can see the tone I used). This is not very characteristic of me. When he got home the picture above is what I saw on our counter. All of my favorite not-so-healthy food items. Yea, I quickly ate humble pie and felt horrible. I then laughed and decided either God had a great sense of humor and was saying “Choose JOY in ALL circumstances” what kind of authority do you have on that, are you finding Joy in all these things you are encountering or the other option was it was that Satan didn’t want me to get done with this post for many of you to see.
Joy is a choice. We can choose the path of joy or the path of anger, worry, but no matter what reaction we choose, it will not change the problem we are facing, it will only change the way we FEEL about the problem. Statistics have shown that heart disease and so many other diseases are caused by anger, worry, bitterness. Not only is it not pleasing to God but it is not healthy for us. We need to keep our eyes focused on our creator. Philippians 4:4 says “Rejoice in the Lord Always and Again I say Rejoice”. It doesn’t say rejoice WHEN things are good. Rejoice IF things are going well. It says rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!!
God should not be a last resort; he should be the first resort. So many times we talk to our friends and family first and when they don’t have the answers for us, we go to God as a last resort. That is backwards, we should be going to God first. We even have reference to that in James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” So if you are seeking wisdom, ask God. Then be obedient and wait upon the Lord. God gives us what we need for the moment. Philippians 4:6 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” If we have a problem or concern, all we have to do is open the Bible and all the answers are right there. What happens so many times is that God doesn’t answer our request INSTANTLY so we think he isn’t listening, he doesn’t care, and so we make our own decisions, not a decision that necessarily came from God. Then when it goes wrong, we are angry with God. This is why it is so important to be realistic in life and understand we will have trouble, but HE has overcome the World, so no matter what we face here on earth, we need to remember it is temporary and we need to seek God’s wisdom for ALL decisions & remember this too shall pass.
Our emotions will change, as women especially, but no matter what, we have to make a conscious decision to choose joy, not as an emotion, but a Joy that only comes from the Lord. One that we know God is with us, he will take care of what we are going through, and no matter how dark it gets, God is our light, and if we choose Joy, we could be a light for someone else going through something similar as us.
For me, Christian Music has been a great comfort. I find peace in listening to it and the really meditating on the lyrics. Knowing Our Hope does not come from humans, but from God. One of my favorites is Love and the Outcome “He is With Us”. It reminds me that when we feel hopeless, but we can trust our God. He knows what he’s doing. Take a minute and listen to the words and remember, HE IS with us . . ALWAYS!!
By no means am I saying life is easy or problems we face are easy, but I am saying we CAN STILL choose Joy in ALL situations. Yes, we will all fall short, because we are human, but the more important thing is we recognize it and get back up full of Joy the next time we encounter a trial.
Our life is a gift from God, make the most of it. Love God, love people, and find goodness in everyone.
So today, no matter what you are going through today. . Choose Joy!!
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My name is Joni Meyer-Crothers and I run this couponing/money-saving blog along with my husband, Jamie. We love to show others how to save money in a BIG way! We do all the work for you. . we do the matchups and show you where to get the coupons, many FREE printable coupons. Sit back and follow the blog and watch your savings increase! Couponing is a ministry for our family as we we love to show others how to save and share from their couponing harvest!
