This is the time of year, when many of us are ready for a fresh start!
We set our minds on where we want to be,
where we believe-with some effort-
we can be, by the end of the next year,
and that gives us hope for the future!
And hope gets us out of bed and moving.
But our bodies are still here – in today-
and that can be frustrating, can’t it?
Maybe you are believing for a fitter body,
and yet right now- you’re still here, in an out-of-shape state, and it’s HARD to get started. It’s HARD to say yes to the workout, and no to the sugar. It’s HARD to expend the energy in the gym before you even feel like you have it. It’s hard because you don’t know if it’ll even work.
Maybe you are believing for a better relationship with your spouse, and yet right now- you’re still here, in the place where you feel so alone, like you’ve grown apart, and you don’t know how to get knit back together. And you’re ready to put the work in, but you’re praying it’s reciprocated, and you’re not sure how you’ll handle it if it’s not. It’s HARD because you don’t know if your effort will even make a difference.
Maybe you’re believing that, by the end of the year, you’ll be in a better financial position. But right now- in the nitty gritty- in the saying no to some things you want, and yes to cooking at home when you’re tired instead of eating out, it’s HARD.
Whatever it is you’re believing for, can I make a suggestion? It’s the same advice that God himself had to give me today:
Remember that THIS-
TODAY-
(not just that future “some day”)
is also the day
that the Lord has made.
CHOOSE to rejoice-
(feel or show great joy or delight)
and be glad in it!
See, when we set our hearts on a goal-
even a good one-
we can tend to defer our joy to the future,
when we cross those finish lines.
Except the trouble is-
that here on Earth we never will get to see absolute perfection, and yet our souls are wired for that in our Heavenly home.
So one goal becomes another and another and another, and joy gets pushed further and further out.
It eludes us. (We fail to grasp it!)
And the enemy loves that.
He loves when people set their minds on a goal and believe for it to be their place of joy instead of Jesus, because he knows that goals keep moving.
But Jesus? He is always right here. And we can always access Him. In the future, and also in the present. We can learn to tune into the Holy Spirit. We can learn to enter into His presence, palpably, through thanksgiving and praise.
And we don’t have to wait until we hit some goal to be thankful! He has already given us so much to be thankful for, and He is even willing to help us bring those things to mind if we are having trouble recalling them. All we have to do is ask!
Remember how we said above that rejoicing means to feel or show great delight or joy?
Sometimes we just don’t feel it.
Sometimes we have to choose to show it, in prayer, FIRST.
And that is NOT faking it.
It’s “faithing it.”
It’s humbly admitting- I can’t.
I can’t feel grateful in this moment,
(if it’s a hard one),
but I’m coming to you for help, God.
I can’t feel glad in this moment,
(if I’m experiencing depression, even if it looks like I have plenty to be thankful for, I can’t feel it and I’m frustrated because I don’t know why)…
but I’m sacrificing words of praise, even in the pain, and I’m asking you to accept that humble sacrifice and show up in a real way in my heart today, God, bringing your Joy along with you! ☀️
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No matter what our circumstances…
No matter where we are at on the progress line towards any goal…
Or even if we have moved backwards on it…
JOY can always be found in Jesus.
Thank you is the password into the awareness of His presence. (I say the awareness of, because He is everywhere, but it’s our conscious awareness that He is everywhere with us, that can bring us joy.)
And since thank you can be whispered anywhere we are at, we can be aware of His presence always- and when we are aware of His presence- in the middle of ALL our moments- the magical, the mundane, and even the challenging – we suddenly can see so much MORE to be thankful for.
Today God had to renew my mind and get me out of my old tendency to defer my joy and hope.
He had to remind me that the joy of the LORD is my strength! (The joy found in that together-place.)
-Nehemiah 8:10
He had to bring up a song from my childhood, a catchy tune to get stuck in my head which is a good one for me to not be able to forget.
🎶 This is the day (This is the day)
That the Lord has made (That the Lord has made)
I will rejoice (I will rejoice)
And be glad in it! (And be glad in it!)
This is the day that the Lord has made!
I will rejoice and be glad in it!
This is the day. This is the day,
that the Lord has made. 🎶
THIS is the day.
THIS is the moment.
(And the next one will be too.)
Where JOY will be found.
(If we remember to look in the Lord.)
ANY MOMENT can be the fresh start,
fresh breath, peaceful place we are looking for!
From Full 