So I was sitting here thinking of what to write. I am reading through all the different blogs of my friends. Gosh, it seems to me that everyone is under attack by a spirit of … something ��depression, confusion… Everyone seems to sound so hopeless � mainly about relationships. It is difficult to read all of that sometimes. Since I care and pray often for my friends, I also empathize and feel their pain through their writings. However, I have noticed that it seems that some people “enjoy” living in their pain. Or maybe I should say enjoy wallowing in it? Maybe it just seems that way. It’s hard to tell sometimes.
I guess my question is… where is our joy? where is the happiness? As Christians, we ought to be experiencing joy on a daily basis � even when times are tough we are to count those trials as joy. I don’t think Paul was talking about a giddy cheesy everything is just grrrrreaaaat! fake smile kind of joy. I think he was speaking of a deep sense of happiness and peace despite pain.
Honestly, the stuff we go through and whine about on a daily basis is NOTHING compared to what people have suffered for the sake of the gospel. I have to remind myself of that constantly. The “trials” of our cushy American lives are so silly. I sometimes laugh at myself for even getting upset.
This is not to say that our feelings should be ignored. When a girl dumps you, it hurts, but it is not the end of the world. When your car gets smashed up, you get upset, but you can always get another one. The point is that life does go on. And will continue to go on until God the Father decides otherwise. Thus, we need to be focused on living life to the best of our abilities for Him. We need to quit whining about the stuff that is happening and realize that He is the one in control and whatever is happening is going to somehow bring more glory to Him (which, after all, is the reason we are here anyway). We need to stop getting pulled off track by the enemy and his tactics. Depression and despair are some of those. I know. I have dealt (still deal) with them. But we serve a big God and because of who we are in Him, we have the power to overcome them. Thank you Lord.
So all that to say… don’t let stuff drag you down and pull you away from God. Draw close to Him in times of trial and pain and you will find that in those times of intimate relationship with Him, you will experience his joy and peace. And believe me, it is an awesome thing!