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Pastor Doug's Ramblings and Ruminations |
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Date: 2009-05-28 11:08:31
Title: Fight for Joy
This week as I was going over my memory verses for the month of May, something jumped out at me. It was three little words. Let me back up. Each month everyone in our Church is encouraged to memorized the same Bible verses. These verses tie into the theme of the Sunday messages. Right now we are memorizing 1 Thessalonians 5.16-18.
Back to my point. Three little, but powerful words jumped out at me as I was thinking on I Thessalonians 5.16-18. These three words ran around my mind until they found and then tackled my attention. The three words are “Be joyful always.”
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have to fight for joy. Different things come along and slap me in the face. When my mind begins to move away from joy, I sense something shift in my soul. It is then that I know I need to fight for joy.
How do I fight for joy? First, I acknowledge that I am moving away from where I need to be...from what this verse says I am to do: Be joyful always. Then, I work to identify the emotion that is sucking the joy out of me. It is only when I identify my emotions (anger, fear, frustration, etc...) that I can effectively deal with them.
Next, I make the decision to not let my mind get into a joyless rut. It is easy to let myself run down a well-worn path of joyless living. One thing that really helps is expressing my gratitude to God for how great He is and for all the wonderful things He has done. In other words, I count my blessings. I let the list get as long as it needs. I think over the day, the previous day, the previous week, other people’s lives, situations locally, nationally, and internationally. Wherever I see God’s goodness, I offer my gratitude to Him
Finally, I repeat Scripture to myself. This practice, this spiritual discipline, is also called Meditation. For example, I may recall and ponder 1 Thessalonians 5. 16-18. Another favorite is Philippians 4.8. These verses get my thoughts out of joyless ruts and put my mind back where it belongs. Using verses that I have memorized really helps here. When verses are memorized I have instant and total recall of the truths of God. It doesn’t matter where I am, I can always ponder God’s Word when I have it memorized.
So, if you find yourself fighting for joy, try these four suggestions. They may help. If you have anything that has helped you, please write and let me know what it is.
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