A few days ago I received a text from a friend that on the surface seemed pretty random.

He asked me, "What is the biggest conviction you think God is throwing in your face this summer?"

This question took me by surprise, and the more I thought about it, the heavier the question became.

After a few days of thinking it over, I kept coming back to the same answer.

So often I am guilty of "wishing" my circumstances away. If something I don't like starts to threaten my reality, I revert to fantasy. I start to feel sorry for myself, and I dream about how life could be or how I think it should be.

Over the last few months, there have been a lot of things that I didn't plan or prepare for.

For instance, I didn't plan or prepare to break up with my boyfriend. It was necessary, but that didn't lessen the hurt. I play it all over and over in my head, thinking about how things should have or could have worked out differently.

But it happened.

Through it all, God has been teaching me to have joy right now, despite my circumstances. He is teaching me that happiness and joy aren't the same things. Happiness is fleeting, but abundant joy through Him weathers the storms of life.

It's so easy to feel bogged down by the stresses of life.

Working two jobs, driving to and from these jobs, and preparing for summer classes... Standing on the front end of this list, it's not hard to feel overwhelmed.

But God has control.

He is my source of joy, life, and salvation. He makes even the mundane days bring a smile to my face.

Finding joy in Christ is not always my "go to." A lot of the time, I sulk about the way things are, and then I try to figure things out on my own.

However, this is not how God intended it to be.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Despite the hurt, the confusion, and the chaos, I know that I can have hope. Because life keeps moving forward, the world keeps spinning, and joy found through Jesus is better than any fantasy I could ever dream up.