By Miriam from Nigeria
This is the day that the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it! I have decided to make this statement my everyday anthem. Even though my day might have hard moments, I will choose to have a good attitude about my day. I won’t let hard moments define how I will feel throughout the whole day.
“I choose joy.” I have heard this phrase so many times that I decided to own up to it and start using it because it actually makes sense to me. You know, choosing joy is when you decide to rejoice in the midst of situations that are difficult and should naturally break you and make you feel depressed and sad. Yet, you decide to rejoice anyway.
The Bible says in Philippians 4:4 to: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!’ That means, no matter what, I, Mariam, can always make the choice to rejoice.
I choose joy in a world that has gone crazy and is getting crazier.
I choose joy in the present situation that I am in.
I am really tired of being on this journey, even though I am supposed to be a sojourner in the world. I know that my home is with my Savior in heaven. Still, I want to have a place I can go to and know that it is mine, and have some roots in this world. I would love to have a place I can call home. I am sure you know what I mean if you’ve ever been away from home and missed it.
I continue to choose joy because joy isn’t a feeling. Joy is what will give me the strength to keep going.
Joy is an aspect of character that God wants me to have because it will make living in this crazy world, with the situations happening around me and with me, worthwhile. It takes hardship and gives it meaning and purpose, and that helps me to have more strength in each moment. Choosing joy keeps me going when the storms of life come. Instead of washing me away, joy will keep me grounded to withstand them all.
Choosing joy makes me smile and even ignites a feeling of happiness. I feel happy and can smile even as I type this because I choose joy.
It’s saying, “Lord, take the wheel. I trust you to take control.”
Choosing joy is allowing the Holy Spirit to fill and feed me with His fruit, and to work in me to bring forth a strong and worthy character.
I can’t have joy or build a character of joyfulness on my own. It is a character trait that only abiding in Jesus can give me, and when I give myself to Jesus Christ, I know I will have a fulfilling life in spite of whatever I am going through. Joy will come to stay in me and I will reflect it in my strength, character, choices, and my daily living.
Joy is not a feeling, but a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Every day, it gives me the strength of the Lord to keep going.
