An Opportunity to Choose Great Joy!

Choose joy? When challenges and disappointments come? How can we count all this stuff as joy? You young’uns may not remember the old Hee Haw Show where the cast members sang this “miserable” song that went like this: "Gloom, despair, and agony on me; Deep, dark depression, excessive misery; If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all; Gloom, despair, and agony on me." Those poor old guys lived way below these words from the Apostle James: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” James 1:2

I'm writing this blog from my precious grandson's experience last weekend. He had reasons to sing that Hee Haw song. I'm sure considering his troubles as “an opportunity for great joy.” was a stretch. You see, on Sunday, all dressed and ready to head to church, he went to his car….and his sweet-ride wasn’t there. My daughter gives these details: “Our son, Payton, had his car stolen this morning but I am so proud of his response to what could have been a very difficult morning. His response was: "Mom, I could be all upset and angry, but I choose JOY. I refuse to let this bring me down." His trunk was full of some VERY special possessions and our family fishing equipment, which...if you know my family, is PRECIOUS cargo. But instead of being "normal"...our boy chose JOY.

She goes on to share: “I don't know what you are going through, but today's brief, but powerful sermon comes to you from my son's own life experience today: "CHOOSE JOY!" "All things work together for good to them that LOVE GOD and are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28. And God, we pray for the people who stole his car and we ask you to forgive them and draw them into repentance. May they come to know you and the power of your resurrection!” Staci Wallace

So, there you go, Satan. Body-slam to you and all your little imps. Instead of Payton losing his joy, he sensed God speaking to him to take a deep breath and receive the encouragement of joy when he needed it the most. If we read this verse “Count it all joy” (James 1:2) as a stand-alone suggestion, it seems impossible to put it into practice. Yet, if we read the context behind it in Scripture, it takes on an entirely new perspective and begins to seem — with God’s help — doable.

James wrote that verse during a time when the Christians were facing insurmountable problems that had stolen their joy. But in their defense, these believers had justifiable reasons to have a bad attitude. They faced great persecution, unrelenting trials and sufferings — from murder to imprisonment — at the hands of Saul, who was zealous to destroy the church and anyone associated with Jesus. As a result, these Christians were in fear, mourning, confusion, and hopelessness.

Some fled their homes in fear for their lives. They lived in poverty, forced to scrounge for food to survive. Some were sick, and everyone was exhausted. They had every right to be negative and pessimistic. James acknowledged their suffering but also wanted to give them hope and encouragement. He told them inner joy could still be theirs, if they deliberately chose to take control of their thinking and change their attitude. He encouraged them to pause and refocus on their faith.

When life gets hard, it’s difficult to avoid letting a bad attitude take over our minds and rule our lives. We might not experience religious persecution as those first believers did, but let’s face it: people hurt us, the past haunts us, coworkers mistreat us, friends forsake us, spouses dishonor us, children don’t appreciate us, finances don’t support us, and our health doesn’t sustain us. James’ words can help us, too.

Our attitude is our choice and knowing whatever circumstances we face don’t have the power to dictate that “loser” attitude unless we let them. Although enduring problems with a smile and pure joy in our hearts can be difficult, doing so not only helps us become stronger believers, it opens the door for an attitude transformation. Our attitudes are an outward display of what’s taking place in our hearts. When our hearts focus in the right place, our attitudes will, too. The only thing we have to lose by choosing a positive attitude is a negative one.

Lord, fill us with a joy that can only come from You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

We’ll Take the Fast Pass, Please!

This last March, my Wallace Family and I went to Disney World in honor of the 10-year anniversary since Papa (my husband) celebrated his 60th birthday and Alexia celebrated her 6th birthday there. It was so special to be there to remember that special time we had together before. What made it even more special was that the kids have friends that work at the parks that gave us Fast Passes for some of the more popular rides.

A Fast Pass accelerates getting through the long lines by getting a special ticket ahead of time that allows you to go to the front of the line at an appointed time. It saved us so much time that we could enjoy more shows and attractions than just standing in line.

Wouldn't it be great if God would give us Fast Pass answers to our prayers? Wouldn’t it be fabulous to march straight through God’s pauses to move directly to His perfect plan? Of course, if that were the case, we’d be treating God like an amusement park ride where WE were the conductor of the ride, as well as the rider. Both you and I know that God seldom hands out passes so that we can avoid the wait and skip to the front of the line. He is so sovereign and so knows what's best for us that He meticulously plans "the wait". During the wait, we learn to trust Him more. During the wait, we learn patience and determination. During the wait, we tend to DEPEND on His perfect timing. During the wait, we come to realize that the initial prayer we prayed wasn’t at all what we really wanted. You know….that dream boat of a guy we wanted to look our way, but while we were WAITING in line, we saw him in a totally different light. He was actually a tug boat -- not a dream boat! Thanks, God, for the wait!!

A rush through the wait has the potential to stunt our spiritual growth and dull our senses to what God wants us to learn. James 1:2-4 “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James is giving us wise advice. He’s saying “Avoid the Fast Pass through tests and challenges." The Fast Pass can feel like a breeze. But more times than not, a pause will actually work in our favor. Our faith will mature, and we will become devoted followers of God -- trusting in His perfect timing and plan for our lives. God is the Creator of time. We can trust His pauses to be purposeful and perfectly arranged. God will make the most of our pause, and we should, too.