Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4 NKJV
Jesus wants our hearts to be filled with joy. Is that even possible? Does God want us to be happy on our journey through life? Is that possible? And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 I have always heard joy and happiness are not the same. We can choose joy regardless of circumstances. Happiness is subject to circumstances, feelings and emotions. Paul addresses a dispute between believers. He calls them to be of one mind and stand fast in the Lord. Paul encourages other believers to help them. He tells them to rejoice and let their gentleness be known to all people because Jesus is at hand! Paul says the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard their hearts and minds. He tells them to replace worry and anxiousness with prayer in every situation and circumstance. He tells them to pray with thanksgiving, why? The Philippians had direct access to the throne of God! The same power that raised Jesus from the grave filled their hearts and minds with peace! A Pastor at church said joy and happiness are the same. God wants us to be happy. The bible does not make a distinction between joy and happiness. Neither does the dictionary. They are synonymous! My wife and I have experienced our share of trials and troubles. We are surrounded by hardships today. They do not prevent us from being joyful. We chose to be joyful. We are happy regardless of our circumstances! I no longer believe I can choose joy but must accept that I may not be happy! We can choose to be happy the same way we choose joy, by faith! The world is filled with sin, shame and violence. We are in the grip of a global pandemic. Millions of people have lost their jobs. What do we have to be joyful about? How can we be happy in a world spiraling farther and farther into the abyss of hopelessness? Jesus is not in heaven wondering what to do about the pandemic! He is not trying to figure out how to get us through the valley of the shadow of death! Jesus is at the right hand of the Father right now! Our Savior is with all who live by faith in Jesus today! The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds if we replace fear and anxiousness with prayer and thanksgiving. What do we have to be thankful for? We have access to the throne of Almighty God! Jesus Christ died on a cross two thousand years ago to give us the freedom of choice! Rejoice in the Lord! Choose to be joyful and happy in every circumstance and situation! http://www.joyfor2day.com https://twitter.com/JoyFor2day #Joyfor2daydailydevotional
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Louie GarciaJoyfor2day daily devotional goes out over the internet to thousands of people all over the world five days a week
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