Instead of setting typical resolutions, I like to pick a word or phrase for the year. Last year my phrase was “seek truth.” This year, my phrase is “choose joy.”
LOL.
Satan acted fast on that one. He wanted to try his best to make sure that wouldn’t happen.
Six days into 2017, we had to put my dog down. I don’t really want to choose joy right now.
I look on social media and see my friends hurting so early in the year, too. Relationships have already been broken and loved ones have died. I won’t speak for them, but from past experience, I can tell you that it can be hard to choose joy in those situations.
When joy doesn’t choose us, it’s hard for us to justify choosing it anyway. But the Bible says to do exactly that- choose joy.
When I first became a Christian, James 1 was a passage that made me super uncomfortable. I think it made me feel that way because the concept of “counting it all joy” when I “meet trials of various kinds” was a concept that literally made me laugh out loud. It was just a concept to me, not something I wanted to put into practice. Even as I’ve matured spiritually, I have still struggled with this passage. I tried reading it yesterday after we got home from the vet and just scoffed at it.
But when I woke up today, I knew joy wasn’t going to choose me. I was going to have to choose joy. I didn’t want to, but choosing the alternative was going to be way harder.
I had to reread the passage with fresh (super puffy) eyes to get it to stick.
James 1: 2-4 says “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
I have read these verses hundreds of times, but it always makes me think the same thing: there is a bigger picture than I can see. There is purpose that I have yet to understand. The more trials I walk through, the more I’ll be prepared for the next one.
But sometimes, y’all, I just want a break. But I’m not God, so I don’t get to make those kinds of decisions. And that’s okay.
It’s hard to choose joy when we’re walking through the fire. We fail to see the bigger picture sometimes. I know I do. Sometimes, we’re just too close to a situation. You’re so focused looking at this one flower that you fail to see the whole garden. John Piper once said, “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” That’s comforting to know, but scary for the control freaks of the world. But once you give it all to God and stop trying to make things work on your own, you’ll start seeing results. John 13:7 says, Jesus replied, “You don’t understand what I am doing, but someday you will.” The Son of God said that. If that’s not comforting, I don’t know what is.
Y’all, I am preaching to myself right now. Giving it all to God and being joyful in the season of waiting is what I struggle with the most in my Christian walk. But you are not alone. You are so not alone.
So whatever you’re walking through, I pray that you try your best choose joy, even when you feel like it doesn’t want to choose you. It’s much better than the alternative. It’s not easy and I am no expert at it (I really miss my dog and cry at least once an hour) but let’s try together.
I’m praying for you today, friend.
