Starting the day with the Lord. Whispering a prayer over the dishwasher. One said over a teen driver leaving for the day. Another, as I pass a daughter’s school. How close the Lord felt. The joy I experienced with every ounce of me.
Until the day I didn’t.
Oh, I knew joy was not just a feeling. It was an intellectual decision. Like love. Just as I didn’t love every single choice my kids made, I still loved my children even through the challenges.
My faith was taking a few challenges, but I knew God was still there. And I knew that it would one day be restored. I just wasn’t sure when.
I had walked with the Lord long enough to know “textbook-wise” how to get through this slump. I needed to revert to one of my favorite passages of Scripture for the “how-to”.
Philippians 4:8-9.
“Whatever is true,
Whatever is nobel,
Whatever is right,
Whatever is pure,
Whatever is lovely,
Whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (NIV)
I knew what had stolen my joy and part of it was my mindset. My reaction to something that devastated me.
I loved God. I intellectually knew He knew what He was doing. But it was hard to joyfully praise Him in the storm. I was hurting and so were ones dear to me.
Yet, as I focused on what was true- the ultimate truth- Scripture, I delved into the promises that had carried me through before.
O yes, the Lord and I had history- and the longer I looked at those promises- the cloud lifted a tad. He had carried me before. He would carry me, and my dear ones again.
He was nobel and so were His intentions. I could trust Him. Not just with my tomorrow, but also with today’s pain and uncertainty.
My faith in Him was right, and well-placed, and certain. He would never let me down. He had never failed me yet.
His love is pure. He doesn’t fanaggle circumstances to coerce my affection. This current pain was not punishment. But I could count on Him using it for my good, somehow, some way.
I needed to focus on the lovely in each day. Not let the ugly overshadow every minute.
That’s plain hard when your heart is consumed by worry- isn’t it? Yet, He knew. He saw my conflicted heart- wanting to be positive and yet so, so burdened. He was offering to carry it, if I’d let Him. He didn’t mind how many times I might try to take it back. He’d gently and lovingly encourage me to give it over to Him one more.
I thought about those who carried burdens far heavier than mine, and did so joyously, because they knew God was bearing the load. It was high time to build my faith like that.
Now.
It didn’t happen overnight, but a little each day. Until my joy wasn’t just a memory. It was current.
Oh, not that life suddenly got perfect. No, that would have been too easy! But the work I put in and the grace God showed me, built my faith one block at a time, and that structure proved sturdy the next time my joy was threatened.
Maybe you’ve been there too? Oh if you have, or if you’re there right now, please know you aren’t alone! And please know, He’s welcoming you with open arms. You don’t need to look at the world through rose-colored glasses. We must acknowledge challenges and hard places. But we don’t need to wallow in them. I learned the hard way that wallowing makes me a prime target for the enemy. The enemy will start spoon-feeding negativity I have no business swallowing. But when I’m wallowing, I start digesting it all- letting it seep into every cell in my body, and then, he’s poisoned me. And I let it happen.
Philippians 4:8-9 isn’t just a nice suggestion, or a way to praise God when all is well. No, it’s an instruction on how to preserve our joy and keep us spiritually healthy.
No. Matter. What.
Will you join me in asking Him for help to do just that?
Prayer: Dear Lord, You know. You know what burdens my heart. You know when I try so hard to keep in step with You, and how sometimes I fail. How I fail to surrender that heavy burden to You. Please help me guard my thoughts. Help me to see things as they are, and see how to live right, in my thoughts, to preserve my walk with You, to let You handle all these things that burden me, and to let You author my mindset. Thank You Lord, In Jesus’ name, Amen.