My Joy Goes Underground Sometimes!

In continuing with the articles I'm reading about Joy, Thelma Wells gave me some more things to think about. She is a speaker and author and recently survived cancer.

Here is a verse to think about:
Habakkuk 3:17-19
"Though the cherry trees don't blossom and the strawberries don't ripen, though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, I'm singing joyful praise to God. I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Saviour God. Counting on God's Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I'm king of the mountain!" (The Message)

One thing that really stood out to me in this article was that we sometimes look at life through the eyes of our culture: where I should live, what I should drive, where my kids should go to school, what I should have in my house. Most of these things mean little or nothing in the end. We get confused about who we serve and why we serve. It is so easy to become depressed and overwhelmed and then we allow our joy to go underground.

We can't lose our joy. Once God gives it to us, it's ours because the Spirit of God lives in us. (Provided we have asked him to live in our heart!) But we can make it go underground when we let the stuff of this life cover it.

Here are some of my joy stealer's:
1. Not having a clean, tidy house 24/7
2. When the girls are arguing all day and can't get along
3. When I have to be home alone because Shawn has another band thing
4. When I don't have time for myself during the day because there are so many other things to do ( I admit, I need some quiet time during the day in order to function!)
5. When I haven't planned out our meals the right way and we run out of food before payday
6. When I'm not a perfect, patient, creative mom on any given day

I'm coming to realize that all these things don't matter in the big scheme of life! When I am focusing on these things, I lose sight of who God created me to be. He put me right here, with my family, at this moment in time. I can't be in control of everything. I need to have a heart of unceasing prayer throughout my day. I have to realize that the joy of Christ is always inside me and I just need to let it out! I need to make sure I make time for Him to fill me with His joy every minute of every day. It can't be through the circumstances that happen. Those DEFINITELY will take away my joy! I think once God's true Joy fills my heart, some of the things that take it away won't do that anymore!

James 1:2 says: "Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy." (NLT)

So I will continually strive to focus on Christ, to pray unceasingly every day, and have more joy in my heart!