Joy.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! –Philippians 4:4

So maybe its just me, but do you ever have those moments in life where you think you have something down pat and all together only to realize how far away you actually are from having it all together? I certainly had one of those humbling moments this week. Joy is a thing in which I never thought I struggled with. Yes, things may be hard but I have always considered my self as one of those people who finds the “silver lining” in situations. Smiling comes naturally to me and to be quite frank with you, at times I really can’t stop.

            The past few weeks have been rather challenging but that’s life. I thought I was handling it all fairly well. That is until I stopped, and looked at myself. What I saw was not what I had expected or wanted to see. It was something deep down that I attempted to hide from myself. While I may have been smiling, I was not joyful. When even the slightest thing went wrong or added to my daily schedule I began to notice how this affected my mood. Rather than being “joyful always” (1^st Thessalonians 5:16) I was just putting up a fasad. I began to realize that the way I was living and acting wasn’t pleasing to God. While I may have acted one way, God see’s my heart and knows my every thought.

            Happiness is a choice, a conscious decision to choose joy in the midst of whatever the circumstance may be. It is the decision to embrace the fact that Jesus died so that we may live. It is the choice to live out the word by being joyful always, and choosing to rejoice in the Lord. God isn’t glorified in my life if I choose to dwell on the temporary rather than seeking the eternal things that wont pass away. While this lifestyle is not the most convenient way to live, it’s the most rewarding. In my opinion, choosing joy and living out that joy, from the inside out, glorifies God so why waste time acting any other way.