I Just remembered tonight that I had a dilapidated
old keychain. At one time, it was a very cute smiley
face, in the 70's tradition. But now the smile is
worn off, and it's simply a big yellow ball. The
smile had worn off. I thought, "Sometimes that happens
to us. We let the worries and hassles of everyday
life wear our smiles off." We allow exterior circumstances
to render us irritable, and we forget all we have
for which to be thankful. God does not expect us
to be "up" all the time, nor to pretend all is well
when it is not. It is very Biblical to share our
difficulties with both God (see Ps. 62:8) and our
Christian friends (see Rom. 12:15) But one of the
gifts of His Holy Spirit is joy, and that is not
dependent on what is happening around us.
Gal
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. (NIV)1
2 Cor 8:2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing
joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich
generosity. (NIV)1
Even
during a very taxing situation, the Macedonian churches
were joyful. How can we prevent "losing our smile"
to the hurts and worries of our lives? We can pray
for God to help us see all our circumstances, and
all people, through Jesus' eyes. Then we can see
them in a sense of perspective, an eternal one.
Instead of cursing the person who cuts us off in
traffic or jumps ahead of us in the grocery store
line, we will utter a little prayer for him.
We
can ask God to help us have a teachable spirit.
If we make a "C" instead of our usual "A" on an
exam, this can be a good lesson in humility, and
perhaps help us be better able to empathize with
those who struggle in school. If the doctor's office
makes a billing error and thinks we have not paid
a bill, instead of seeing it as an annoyance, we
can realize that many people face this monthly --
and some are unable to keep up with bills, even
if they are working full-time or overtime and doing
the best they can. He can teach us valuable lessons
from every situation we face.
We
can practice thankfulness. I hope you will
join me in trying to find at least one thing for
which to be thankful, in every situation you face-whether
it's a trivial annoyance or a deep pain.
