When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' your unfailing love, LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy (Psalm 94:18-19).
Do you feel it -- that tightening in your chest that makes you think medical attention is eminent? That uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach when you think of your to-do list? Those tears when you think of those you love going through hard trials? The shadow that hovers over your heart as you deal with grief?
My “Everyday” this week encompassed all of those. Physical issues, writing deadlines looming, mixed with entertaining preparations, a continuing grief, and friends coping with cancer, empty nests, and frightening physical diagnosis.
But as I began my day I realized that while my heart is aches, frustration sits with tenacity in my stomach, heart shadows creep closer, my body wants to curl up without moving, I can still be joyous!
The Psalmist asked God: Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days (Psalm 90:14). This is the satisfaction that comes with beginning our day with God. Satisfaction from reading the love letter He left for us. Satisfaction from conversation with our Best Friend. Satisfaction from listening to worship music. It is out of this satisfaction that we can find joy in our “Everyday.”
Joy in the clear amber of my iced tea.
Joy in an egg casserole, RB-style.
Joy in a successful morning of writing.
Joy in lunch in a “hole-in-the-wall” diner.
Joy in West Virginia peaches, corn-on-the-cob, and cherry tomatoes from a vegetable stand.
Joy in a refreshing nap.
Joy in texts and laughs from my teacher daughter.
Joy in anticipation of family togetherness.
You see, I could let life irritate and overwhelm me – and I almost did. But I was reading Psalm 41 when verse eight stopped me. “I take joy in doing your will, my God.” God’s will is for us to live the “Everyday” with joy.
Joy when we’re not feeling well.
Joy when we don’t have enough hours in our day.
Joy when we stand at a loved one’s newly laid grave marker.
Joy when we are bearing others’ burdens.
Because when we choose joy, we find it waiting in every moment of our day, around every corner we turn, in every activity. Too often we use joy and happiness interchangeably. Nobody is happy with pain, happy when grieving, happy that our friends are suffering, happy with more work than hours. But joyful? Yes, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.
In the midst of a week of difficult circumstances, I found joy in my “Everyday.”
In the midst of a week of difficult circumstances, I found joy in my “Everyday.”
16 comments:
God bless you my friend. if you need a shoulder to lean on, email me. shortybear.63@comcast.net praying for you, love you.
.so true, Pamela! And joy seems to multiply when acknowledged and expressed, I think. You've encouraged me to "count" it all joy with this post :)
Sounds like you have your share of clouds, too. How blessed we are to know that back of the clouds, the sun is always shining.
The joy of the Lord is my strength, even when times are hard. Great post.
I stoppied by to Thank you for your visit and kind words about my garden and now I want to Thank you for writing such a wonderful post!!
A few years ago, I chose JOY as my Word for the year. My Word is LIVE this year but I am also finding JOY through LIVING! And I do chose to find JOY in everyday!!
Thanks again and I am so glad that I stopped by!!
Hugs,
Deb
Thank you so much for sharing such a great word. I needed this reminder as I'm facing some health issues of my own. Praying for you! #DancewithJesus
It seems like joy and peace go hand in hand -- When I let go of the "troubles" and commit them (AGAIN) to the Lord, I find peace, new strength for the day(s) ahead, and fresh JOY!
It's also been helpful to keep a gratitude journal of "little things" that I can find joy in!
As always - great post and so timely!
I want to learn to do this every day, Pamela. I did it the other day when I encountered a difficult situation and it helped so much. Thanks for reminding us to keep a grateful heart. The Lord will bless us more when we focus on all His many blessings.
The joy of the Lord is our strength. Absolutely!
I'll be praying for you that you continue to find joy in the little things around you. I know it's something that I struggle to do too. I was trying to join your link-ups to add this link http://megdgonzalez.com/its-the-little-things-that-weigh-me-down/ (it won't let me because I don't have a blogger account). I wrote this when I was going through a tough time about how I coped. ...I don't know if you'd find it helpful, but I just wanted to share :)
Thank you so much for this post! It really resonated with me and what I've been thinking lately. Have you ever heard the song "Though You Slay Me" by Shane and Shane? I've had it on repeat lately and recently heard the story behind the song which is a lot like this blog post. As Christians we know that ultimately God is working all things for our good - the good things and also the horrible things - so we can still have joy in the midst of the worst situations.
This is a fitting post for what is going on in my life right now. I'm going through a season of many things going wrong and I am fighting the enemy to keep discouragement and despair away. Tips for finding for joy are useful to keep the devil from stealing your joy.
working on the whole joy thing :D
What an absolutely beautiful blog.. From the design down to the words of encouragement and joy. Thank you for sharing and bless you in your journey. Prayers for your friend with cancer and continued peace.
Such a good post! So thankful there is JOY no matter what!
Great reminder that there's joy in every season of life. That God wants us to have Joy every day!
I have felt that tightening in my chest when life starts to press in and in those moments I too choose joy! Especially in the little things just like you have listed! Beautiful!
Cathy
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