Ephesians 2:10: “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Life Application Bible Notes: “If God considers us His works of art, we dare not treat ourselves or others with disrespect or as inferior work.”
It is so easy to not take care of ourselves. It is so common to look in the mirror and be horrified.
When we age, when we are sick, when we are under pressure and when we are tired, we tend to not look at ourselves as a masterpiece that God has created.
People are unkind, unfeeling and in a hurry. People snub us for their own reasons, which are not always based in truth.
How can I possibly be okay with all that goes on? How can I reflect goodness and kindness in such a cruel world? How can I be filled with joy when my body refuses to work? Is it possible to be joyful in the midst of pain? Can we project warmth when we are hurting?
Yes.
I choose joy. I lean in to my Creator and ask to see with His eyes. I rest in His presence and request a heart of love. I cling to my God and plead for Him to fill me with kindness. I press in to the One Who Was and Is and Is to Come and petition understanding of the whole picture. I implore Him for the ability to experience His grace in the midst of ungracious situations. I cannot do this alone. I don’t want to.
This journey has so many twists and turns in the road that I am exhausted. Like a car running on only a few cylinders, I limp along toward my destiny, stopping at places that are occasionally unsafe. I crash like a virus-filled computer. I sometimes can only just lie down and wait. Nevertheless, I choose joy.
I choose joy when the road is bumpy; I choose joy when people don’t get along. I choose joy because of whose I am. I choose joy because I can.
The only thing in my control is my response. When others’ rough edges scratch and poke me, I do have a choice. God has declared me His masterpiece. No matter what happens or what is said, I can grasp the fruit of the Spirit placed in me and choose. I can decide not to take offense. I can be what God says I am because He said it. No one can make me behave differently; I can embrace all the goodness that God has deposited in me and respond out of His loving kindness.
How can this be? He has declared it. Where do I place my gaze? He is Truth. He is Life. He is the Way. As I surrender how I imagine life ‘should’ work, and embrace His truth, I can choose to express the fruit of the Spirit, or I can descend into the depths of despair. Choosing despair looks attractive some times, yet it only makes situations unbearable. I choose Joy. I choose to Believe. I choose to remember that what God has said about His people is the only truth I need to know. I reject all thoughts and feelings that create the opposite of reconciliation. I choose to place my faith in the One Who Makes Me Who I Am.
I choose joy.
Life Application Bible Notes: “If God considers us His works of art, we dare not treat ourselves or others with disrespect or as inferior work.”
It is so easy to not take care of ourselves. It is so common to look in the mirror and be horrified.
When we age, when we are sick, when we are under pressure and when we are tired, we tend to not look at ourselves as a masterpiece that God has created.
People are unkind, unfeeling and in a hurry. People snub us for their own reasons, which are not always based in truth.
How can I possibly be okay with all that goes on? How can I reflect goodness and kindness in such a cruel world? How can I be filled with joy when my body refuses to work? Is it possible to be joyful in the midst of pain? Can we project warmth when we are hurting?
Yes.
I choose joy. I lean in to my Creator and ask to see with His eyes. I rest in His presence and request a heart of love. I cling to my God and plead for Him to fill me with kindness. I press in to the One Who Was and Is and Is to Come and petition understanding of the whole picture. I implore Him for the ability to experience His grace in the midst of ungracious situations. I cannot do this alone. I don’t want to.
This journey has so many twists and turns in the road that I am exhausted. Like a car running on only a few cylinders, I limp along toward my destiny, stopping at places that are occasionally unsafe. I crash like a virus-filled computer. I sometimes can only just lie down and wait. Nevertheless, I choose joy.
I choose joy when the road is bumpy; I choose joy when people don’t get along. I choose joy because of whose I am. I choose joy because I can.
The only thing in my control is my response. When others’ rough edges scratch and poke me, I do have a choice. God has declared me His masterpiece. No matter what happens or what is said, I can grasp the fruit of the Spirit placed in me and choose. I can decide not to take offense. I can be what God says I am because He said it. No one can make me behave differently; I can embrace all the goodness that God has deposited in me and respond out of His loving kindness.
How can this be? He has declared it. Where do I place my gaze? He is Truth. He is Life. He is the Way. As I surrender how I imagine life ‘should’ work, and embrace His truth, I can choose to express the fruit of the Spirit, or I can descend into the depths of despair. Choosing despair looks attractive some times, yet it only makes situations unbearable. I choose Joy. I choose to Believe. I choose to remember that what God has said about His people is the only truth I need to know. I reject all thoughts and feelings that create the opposite of reconciliation. I choose to place my faith in the One Who Makes Me Who I Am.
I choose joy.
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