Joy And Strength
I made one of those life-changing discoveries a few years
ago. Actually, it was a slow realization
over a period of a few years.
I finally connected “joy” with “strength.” I was singing with the Lifeword Trio at the
time of my first realization. We sang
“The joy of the Lord is my strength” from Nehemiah 8:10: “Do not
grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Seemed like a nice sentiment. We sang it loud. We sang if often. We sang it with big smiles on our faces. It was a fun song . . . a crowd pleaser.
Slowly, the words grew into a meaningful message. I began to realize a connection between being
joyful, and having strength. It was
true! Joyful people have more stamina,
more endurance, more strength!
My family has always struggled with depression, as well as
anger. Both of these are joy-robbers and
strength-sappers. Watch a sad
person! They will sit whenever they have
a chance, they need extra sleep and they are always complaining about being
tired. That’s because they are sad . . .
or angry, and those emotions literally suck the life out of us. It takes so much energy to feel sadness and
anger. But joy? Joy PRODUCES energy!
I don’t know about you, but I need the extra energy
that joy brings! Now, I pray for
it. I look for ways to encourage myself
. . . music (the good stuff), gratitude, words . . . I will even make myself
smile! Sometimes a forced smile will
kick-start a new attitude. Here are a
couple of ideas that work for me:
- I start each morning with God. I have to get up a little earlier, but it’s sooooo worth it! First we walk and talk (good exercise, too!) and then I meet Him at my desk with Bible and prayer.
- I keep a gratitude journal every night. I write at least one thank-you to God before I go to bed. It also keeps me focused on gratitude during the day. (“Hey! I could write that in my journal tonight!”)
- I play my piano. And I sing. Sooooo thankful for all those piano lessons & voice lessons! Soooo glad I did my practice!
- I laugh more frequently. In fact, I look for opportunities to laugh! Comedy is everywhere.
Once you start, you will find even more
attitude-adjusters. Stay close to
God. Talk to Him constantly. Ask Him for joy . . . to show you joy and to
give you joy. And then, share the joy .
. . cause someone else is feeling mighty tired, too!
(“Joy and Strength” written
June 19, 2013)