Howdy do,
There’s a video going around of Church children performing a song about joy. Every one is looking so proper, and this little girl gets her moves on. It’s cute and funny and underscores the point – ain’t NOTHING gonna steal my joy. How’s your joy today? And yesterday when things weren’t going right? Or tomorrow when it seems the devil comes visiting in the person of …? Consider today’s Holy Nougat It might put things in perspective.
“Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” 1 Peter 5:9 NLT
Remember others are in the same boat – the successful adult, the got-it-together youth, the at-risk person who’s become invisible, that loud and brash one whose actions grate on everyone’s nerves, perhaps even the bigoted believer is either undergoing or overcoming persecution. Even when s/he is the source of our current woes.
While undergoing, we find ourselves at a crossroad- how to respond bearing in mind the implications. It might be helpful to consider that the testing is for a season and may be targeted at stealing our joy, peace of mind and Christian witness. If that’s the case, do we lose it and let them win, succumb to despair and feel like we’re already losing, or find strength and direction through prayer? If that’s not the case, we may need to discern who the ‘him’ is that we’re standing firm against, for the ‘person’ behind our circumstances may not be wholly responsible, even if complicit.
Standing firm – praising and praying persistently, presenting our problems to the Problem Solver. Repeat
And while we undergo, let’s also remember to pray for those other saints near and far who are in their own seasons of testing.
Blessings and good morning
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
