DAY 5

Choose JOY

FOCAL VERSE :
And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

Nehemiah 8:10 NLT

DEEP REFLECTION:
It feels so good to have good experiences and our expectations met.
But we are not always in control of the happenings in our lives.
Sometimes, and almost all the time the present circumstances around us may not match our expectations.
Yet we can choose to be joyous regardless.
Easier said than done right? Hahaha!

Just as we can choose to Love, I believe we can commit to choosing Joy on a daily basis. Love does not come easily sometimes; just like Joy.

The second part of our focal text says; do not be dejected and sad for the Joy of the Lord is your strength.
This shows that we can choose Joy over Sadness.
It also shows that there is a high tendency to choose sadness over joy because day in and out; life throws different things at us.

We may not be in total control of what may come our way but we have control over how we allow it to affect us.
It is very okay to acknowledge the challenges and struggles we face in life but it is our very choice to remain angry, bitter and sorrowful OR happy, joyful and grateful for everything.
That is the level of power God has deposited in us through our will.

Joy is a fruit that stems from the Holy Spirit living in us.
Gracefully, as believers, we can exhibit pure Joy because of our daily relationship with the sweet Holy Spirit in us. Joy as a fruit is our gift from the Holy Spirit and also our divine advantage. We can choose to access it or not.
In Him (the Holy Spirit) we have overflowing Joy like a river in our souls and we can never lose out with Joy at work in us!

SOUL PRAYER:
Dear Holy Spirit, help me choose Joy over Sadness today. Things might not go as planned but I believe that God has a perfect plan for me. Help me to connect to that deep seated Joy; that would produce a positive outlook and perspective towards life within me from this day forward. I believe that the strength which flows from your pure joy will carry me through life's challenges even when everything seems to be falling apart. So, help me to choose Joy everyday.
In Jesus name. Amen

INTENTIONAL EXERCISE:
Hey beautiful Soul,
Take a moment and try this out.. "Just smile or laugh out loud."
Hahaha! Right there..!
Your smile might be someone's reason to keep going.
So keep on smiling.

Hey Beautiful Soul, we would love to hear from you.

This is a GROWcode_initiative in partnership with Jesus Christ.
Stay connected to grow.
Much love.

Written by: Beth_Hamm
Edited by: Beth_Hamm