Tuesday, February 10, 2015

How Do I Get My Joy Back?







One of the best things about kids is how well they live in the moment. When they are excited about something, they have a hard time waiting for it to happen, but you better believe that when it comes time for the exciting event to happen that they are going to celebrate it fully. Christmas is so fun with kids because they rejoice in the presents that they get and they rejoice in the other small things about Christmas so well. They dream and think about their birthday for months and months before it really happens. 

As adults, I feel like we can get stuck in looking towards the long-term and all of the obligations and we can forget to rejoice and celebrate the exciting and wonderful moments of life, especially the small moments. Kids get excited about getting to play with new play dough or having a snack that they really like. There are so many small things to rejoice in! 

In the Bible it has this verse that says, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." -Colossians 3:15 

I just feel like this verse is such a great one. I can get so caught up in everything going on in my life that I forget that the God of peace is really in charge of my life and my heart. 

Peace comes when we give up our control. We're really not in control of most of the things that we worry about anyways so why not relax a little bit and pry our fingers off the things that we're trying to hold on to so tightly? God's hands are a safe and capable resting place for the worries of our lives. 

Going back to the verse...it's interesting how it ends with..."And be thankful." When we are able to hand over our worries we will have God's peace. And through His peace, we will be able to focus on what we are thankful for instead of focusing on only ourselves and our struggles. 

God has given us so much and on top of it all, He wants to give us His peace and take our burdens for us. It's funny that we would every worry about things at all when He is in control of the universe. Yet we think He can't handle our lives? That's so silly! 

As for me, I want to hand things over right away to Jesus so my life can be an example of the peace that He brings to us. And the words that come from my life can be filled with speaking out all of the blessings that He has given me and all of the things that I have to be thankful for. 

How do you get your joy back? It's about surrender and then peace, joy and thankfulness will follow!