A few years ago I realized I was a complainer. I’d walk into a room and suck the life out with negativity. I was a walking, talking, black hole of joy. Pain and misery extend to others in my words, until I absorbed every last encouragement they could prescribe.
My intent truly was to communicate what I was going through at a time when my life hit rock bottom…marriage on the rocks, jobless, financially wrecked and hungry. Hungry for food and the Bread of Life.
Every day I see it. In person, on Facebook and Twitter, at the store or the play ground with my kids. People caught up and hung up on the bad. Our culture loves a complainer or a good rant/vent session…especially if it makes someone a villain. We like to put our two cents in when it comes to just how bad that villain is, especially publicly. Unfortunately this notion has left more than our neighbors hurt and unloved. This negativity has hurt ourself, our family, our community, our world.
A family member of mine thought I would enjoy a blog by Ann Voskamp, writer of 1,000 Gifts, a book about JOY. Joy when it’s hard, but God in His grace extends us a moment of love to cling to. My life changed.
I learned to hold tight, write the record, and engrave an ebenezer. Cling to the joy, the precious life saving salve-like love from God. I learned not only to cling, but to sit in the pit and look at every record of love and chose to stand up, stop focusing on the bad, and ask God to help hoist me back out of the hole.
So often, the pit is of our own making. Our untrained thoughts lose sight of God’s goodness and we tumble down a slope into a hole we created.
While I focused daily on the joys, my eyes glanced up and re-witnessed the pain in the world. Keeping my eyes focused, trained on the joy I strain daily reaching out to the pained, hurting, and lost. Then, with care I began to raise my ebenezer, to share my testimony of how God loved me when I stood in the darkest pits of my life. How God rescued me when I did not deserve saving, for my sin condition had appropriately placed me there in the pit. Since changing my focus I choose joy over pain. I choose to love others over ignore. I choose to encourage rather than join the venting of issues and the demonizing of others.
Today, God put it on my heart to be real with you about this epidemic of a JOY-less life. We don’t have to continue to suck the life out of every person we know, every event we attend. We can still be real. We can change our focus. We can overcome the pit. We can overcome a joyless life. We just need a proper focus. Paul wrote to the Philippians how to focus and move away from our broken, peace-less, negative and jaded perspective.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8
The only good and lovely thing I know is Jesus. I set my mind on the little joys he gives me daily. Remember God is good and gives all the goodness we receive. Don’t steal His credit. Our goodness and effort are as filthy rags. The glory, the goodness both belong to God.
For some this is going to be hard, it was hard for me. Don’t worry, Paul has you covered!
“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”Philippians 4:6
Give this hardship to Jesus, ask his help, ask for strength. Not a believer in Jesus? Think this doesn’t apply to you? It does my friend. I’d love to talk about that with you. PM me.
If I can pray for your JOY perspective today and this week, like or leave a comment. You are not alone.
Run With Perseverance 