“It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is asleep. The day is coming.
“In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.
“For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now I must make a choice… Because of Calvary I’m free to choose. And so I choose.
“I choose JOY…
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance.
I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…the tool of the lazy thinker.
I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings created by God.
I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.”
I choose JOY.”
(Excerpted from When God Whispers Your Name, copyright 2009 by Max Lucado)
Will you choose joy today? If you would like to, but your “funny bone” isn’t working, you need to get it repaired.
I recommend you go to the manufacturer of your life (God). Contact Him on His technical support hotline (prayer) and check out His operating instructions for your life (the Bible). God created you and knows just what you need. I can’t promise God will give you a laugh, but I can promise He will give you His deep-seated joy. It begins by choosing to become a follower of Jesus and it continues day by day by choosing to allow Him to direct your life. Then, and only then, will you find a quiet joy in spite of any circumstance.
Here’s how Jesus explains it in John 15:11: “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”
Will you invite God to be the Lord over your painful circumstances? Will you refuse to doubt that you can make it through? Will you see your irritating friends and relatives as people for whom Jesus died? Will you look at your problems as an incredible opportunity to see God at work? Will you rest in the love of Jesus and be filled with His true joy?
Choose JOY today…because of Calvary you can.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please enjoy the music video below “Joy” by For King and Country (open in your browser).
