A merry heart...
A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones." Proverbs 17:22
Can I be honest? For years I have dreaded the winter months of January and February; because in the past during those times there have been a lot of heartache and sadness. Combine those feelings with the predominately dreary weather and I really did not look forward to this time of the year. But last November I prayed and told God that I no longer want to live in that dread. He has made a season for everything and I was choosing that if He allowed me to live during that season then He and I was going to make it different from the past years, that it would be different this time...
When I began to intentionally stand against those feelings of depression and heaviness, even sometimes saying out loud "No, I will NOT go there.", I began to actually feel as if I was lighter...as if Someone had come along beside me and lifted the load that was trying to overtake me. For real... I laugh a lot and I like making people laugh; but I have learned that those that are comical, sometimes can be the saddest people around...some of the funniest comedians have autobiographies about the depression they've had to battle, sadly some even losing that battle...
I'm not a professional, but I believe that the enemy of our lives wants to extinguish the gifts that God has given to us...by abusing and confusing those things that were meant for good. But we must be aware of the tactics "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." I Peter 5:8
May I encourage you today? Keep going forward...when the distractions come to weigh you down and try to convince you that you simply cannot make it another day...Laugh! That's right Laugh Out Loud! Because YES...YOU...CAN ! In Nehemiah 8 it says "...the joy of the Lord is your strength..." Happiness is dependent upon current circumstances, but JOY comes when you know that you know God is with you. Trust Him and you have that guarantee.
Can I be honest? For years I have dreaded the winter months of January and February; because in the past during those times there have been a lot of heartache and sadness. Combine those feelings with the predominately dreary weather and I really did not look forward to this time of the year. But last November I prayed and told God that I no longer want to live in that dread. He has made a season for everything and I was choosing that if He allowed me to live during that season then He and I was going to make it different from the past years, that it would be different this time...
When I began to intentionally stand against those feelings of depression and heaviness, even sometimes saying out loud "No, I will NOT go there.", I began to actually feel as if I was lighter...as if Someone had come along beside me and lifted the load that was trying to overtake me. For real... I laugh a lot and I like making people laugh; but I have learned that those that are comical, sometimes can be the saddest people around...some of the funniest comedians have autobiographies about the depression they've had to battle, sadly some even losing that battle...
I'm not a professional, but I believe that the enemy of our lives wants to extinguish the gifts that God has given to us...by abusing and confusing those things that were meant for good. But we must be aware of the tactics "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." I Peter 5:8
May I encourage you today? Keep going forward...when the distractions come to weigh you down and try to convince you that you simply cannot make it another day...Laugh! That's right Laugh Out Loud! Because YES...YOU...CAN ! In Nehemiah 8 it says "...the joy of the Lord is your strength..." Happiness is dependent upon current circumstances, but JOY comes when you know that you know God is with you. Trust Him and you have that guarantee.
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