A Christian's 30 Day Challenge To Deeper Living

Day 3: We Have a Reason to Smile! (So SMILE!)

We all have bad days.  The real test is, will we let it affect our joy?  We can all pretend to be happy- that’s not too extremely hard.  It’s a good time to practice our acting skills.  But what about when inside we’re just downright sad and depressed?  Maybe it’s for no good reason at all.  Or maybe your whole day has just been a downer.  Or maybe something has actually happened to give you reason to be sad.

Today I messed up.  I spent it moping around being sad and depressed.  I was irritable and miserable to be around.  Long story short, my day has been a great example of what not to do.  I realized I had to slap myself out of it.  Then I started thinking about some of my favorite verses:

Romans 15:13

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Psalms 96:11-13

 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.

What great promises!!  The Bible is chalked full of verses of hope and joy.  I think that means we should take a hint and assume it’s pretty important.  I mean, we’re supposed to have a joy that’s contagious to others!  If we walked around gloomy and crying all day, what sort of message would that send out about Christianity?  Who would want to be a Christian?  And that’s really part of the definition of joy- being joyful when bad things are happening.  That’s what separates joy from happiness.  Happiness is a feeling that comes and goes.  Joy is something we always have.  Forever.  No conditions.  All of the time.

So, here’s my conclusion: we have forevermore accessible joy!  We have a promise!  We know Jesus died for us so we can live in Heaven forever!  We have hope that we won’t always on this sinful earth- we have a place where there is joy forever more!

Your Challenge:  The next time you’re feeling gloomy- don’t!  Make a point today to tell a joke, laugh, smile, something!  Be sure to spread your joy with others!  Make your happiness contagious!  You want people to ask what on earth is going on.  You want them to wonder what it is that makes you different from them.

Bonus!!

Sticky note one, or both, of those verses!  (Yes, I'm addicted to sticky-noting.  Believe me, my mirror has been entirely covered at some points.  And sticky notes do reach a point when they lose their sticky.  That’s when the scotch tape comes out!) 

 

SO BE JOYFUL!  GET EXCITED!  WOO-HOO!!!  *runs around corner and slams into wall*

See?  I still have joy even though my nose is bleeding.  *wobbles off*

-Aly :D (Oh, yeah!  Extra excited smiley today!)

(P.S. Don't forget to do your prayer today!  Get out that Prayer List and spend some time with God!  And don't forget to read more from Proverbs!)