Question, should Christians be happy and joyful all the time?

[Depleted]

I know exactly what you mean, true friendship is indeed tested in difficult
times. Sadly it is often non Christians who seem to sympathise and are there
for you the most.

Christians tend to use the kop out phrase of “I will pray for you.” It excuses them
from having to do anything else so they can keep smiling benignly saying God
is good! Not that I’m saying God isn’t good but you know what I mean.

When my aunt got ill again this time around (its over 6 weeks now that she has been
in hospital). A prayer leader sent me a Facebook message to say they were standing
with me in this. I haven’t heard anything from them since!

Oh and yes I know what the heebeegeebees is. Lol

Exactly what I hold against the church. Also, why you need a different group. I get people are busy, but a group? One person, just one day a week to come and literally stand with you -- make you a nice home-cooked meal and eat with you, mow the lawn, give you a ride to the hospital, and then sit outside the room until you've spent time with your aunt, to take you home and let you unload on. They don't have to do all that, but just one of those things one day a week would stop you from feeling so damn alone.

That's the kind of thing I tried to get started in one of our churches. Ended up being a ministry of two. (I married well. lol) Something is terribly wrong with Christians if they can't think to help physically.



Or you need Mary Poppins. lol

 

[Locutus]

They should be like Snoopy.

 

[reneweddaybyday]

[video=youtube;wUxX-0sg-fM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUxX-0sg-fM[/video]

 

[MarcR]

I went to a small house group this evening, and this subject came up.

Everyone there seemed to think the answer was yes, one man actually
said we should all be happy and smile all the time because of what
Jesus has done for us, we should feel happy and blessed all the time.

To be honest I was thinking “I would like to see how that works out
for you when you are talking and praying with someone who says
their lung cancer has come back for the second time and is untreatable!”

Or “I would like to see if you can continue to smile when you are told your
mum is going to die, go home and we will let you know when it happens.”

Or how about when friends you have known for 30 years ring up because the
wife has had a massive stroke and isn’t expected to live. You go to the hospital to
support the husband and are there until the early hours of the morning because
the husband is so distressed.

Or another friend who just after a few months of getting married, discovers she
has breast cancer.

Or what about if you are threatened with a disciplinary hearing by Work for taking
3.5 weeks off work (the first sick leave in 10 years) because you pull your back
badly and end up in agony with a slipped disc, sciatica and trapped nerve.

I’ve experienced all this and more in the past 12 months.


Anyway back to the small group. I tried to explain that we go through seasons and
even Jesus wept, that there is nothing wrong about feeling sadness, that we all go
through trials and tribulations. I also mentioned the verse at the end how we all
go through things, but they can be used by God to refine, build character, etc that we
were never promised an easy pain free life.


But I pretty much got shouted down with people saying, we just need to pray.
and peace and joy is ours and if we are walking in faith and truth then there is no
need for sadness.

I got a bit mad, thinking maybe they were a bit shallow and weren’t really being
honest. But now I’ve calmed down, I thought I would put the question here to
see what you think. Is it possible for a Christian to be at peace and feel joy
even in the most difficult circumstances. Should that be the gold standard
in our walk with Christ. If you have achieved it, how did you get to that point.

Romans 5:3-5 NKJV
[3] And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation
produces perseverance; [4] and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
[5] Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.


.

Ro 12:15
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
KJV

We are certainly expected to show compassion for each other's grief; and can certainly expect times of grief of our own.

However our grief, however appropriate it may be, is never to become our outlook on life. The joy of our Salvation can and should be concurrent with our sorrow at our own or each other's pain.

Even when we grieve we should realize that God is with us and has compassion for our hurts. We can rejoice over our relationship with Jesus even while we sorrow over our hurts.

 

[dcontroversal]

Jesus was a man of sorrows....and God made us to express how we feel at any given moment through emotions....sorrow being one such emotion.....the hardest thing for a believer is to be thankful for all things....one of about three to five subordinate clauses found in Ephesians and tied to being continually filled with the spirit!

 

[posthuman]

The question though that everyone fails to answer, is how. Lol

In theory we can all quote bible verses and say what we think is expected, but
the practice of it is miles apart.

Ps I just quoted your post, but it can be applied to many. So guys and gals, does anyone
have the magic answer as to how they kept their inner joy and peace while going
through tragic times?

I tried to get this across too at the small group but people just smiled and quoted bible
verses.

patience helps.

life is in Him - it is to know Him. how much time does it take for man to get to know infinite God?
eternity. that life is eternal.

i compare the time that i am troubled to the eternity i will be in His presence

​

that understanding, and the trust that is its basis helps me be patient, & patience produces peace.

 

[posthuman]

this one should be a song too ♥

A good name is better than a good ointment,
And the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because that is the end of every man,
And the living takes it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the laughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
For oppression makes a wise man mad,
And a bribe corrupts the heart.
The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.
(Ecclesiastes 7:1-8)​

 

[joaniemarie]

I like Snoopy's way of handling the problems in life. I see this picture as a doggy who spent time the week before wondering how in the world was she ever going to get through this? The problem was overpowering., HUGE and impossible. The Dr.s ordered an ultra sound for a lump., and then a bills came out of no where. A fee of $12,000 in back taxes., and threat of health and loss of all home and hearth. What to do? How to do it?

Let it go and go to Jesus. The morning before my appointment and while waiting in the office I thought about how His love and grace has taken me this far and it says in the Bible to not look to the right or to the left. But straight a head to Jesus.

Isaiah 54:2 Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. Ok Lord., thank you for my home while in this world. I will praise you for your love and provision for me. It shall not end or be taken away from me.

Prepare for the blessings to come because in Jesus I am safe and secure. The world, the flesh and the devil take advantage of me at such times and want to turn my eyes off of my Provider. So I will keep my eyes on You Lord Jesus all the more as the days are evil especially during these impossible times. A lesson in steadfastness. Let not your heart be troubled.... Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you... let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Many times before learning this., I allowed the worry and trouble to double and sealed my own situation with a faithless outcome. But as I've grown., He is teaching me to dare to believe He will bring the best things to pass. So I placed my mind and body in His hands as I waited in the office to meet with the people who seemed to have my life in their hands.

The outcome? A solution not only to the tax problem but another solution to a problem that had nothing to do with this appointment but the financial advice given solved a bigger problem that I had before that was draining me emotionally., physically and spiritually.

I was like Snoopy here in that picture yet again as I often am JOYFUL whenever I think on the love of God in Christ for me. God is working in the lives of His people. He cares about us individually and especially when we are without support or able on our own without strength.

He takes up our cause and as Psalm 91 says., He is my Refuge and my Fortress if I look to the right or to the left and think of others who have lost their homes and jobs and all their finances I would not be looking at Jesus. I would not be dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and remaining stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty Whose power NO foe can withstand. I had to say and rest in the truth His love for me and be confident that because of Jesus I have a refuge from all this trouble.
[SUP]
1 [/SUP]He who [SUP][a][/SUP]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
[SUP]
2 [/SUP]I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
[SUP]
3 [/SUP]For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
[SUP]
4 [/SUP][Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
[SUP]
5 [/SUP]You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,
[SUP]
6 [/SUP]Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.
[SUP]
7 [/SUP]A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
[SUP]
8 [/SUP]Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.
[SUP]
9 [/SUP]Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,
[SUP]
10 [/SUP]There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.
[SUP]
11 [/SUP]For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of
obedience and service].
[SUP]
12 [/SUP]They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
[SUP]
13 [/SUP]You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.
[SUP]
14 [/SUP]Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
[SUP]
15 [/SUP]He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
[SUP]

16 [/SUP]With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

So now while I'm waiting for the ultra sound I'm doing so in the light of how Jesus took care of me all this time before and up till now so He will take care of me in these other matters too. He has proven His willingness to provide for me in all these times of trials as I look to Him and not to the right or to the left.

Knowing that in myself ., I don't deserve any of these blessings., but because of Jesus., I have been given all these blessings in and through the Holy Spirit IN Christ. I can't allow my unbelief to shut off the showers of blessings in Christ. Eph.1:3

[SUP]3 [/SUP]May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!

If it's any help to anyone who reads this., I'm an ordinary loner who is still healing from what caused me to be this way. There is nothing special about me and I have many faults. But in Christ I'm seen as His child and because of Jesus I'm blessed and cared for as a cherished daughter learning each day to see the impossible be part of life by faith. I've seen old thinking habits and strongholds demolished over the last 5 yrs. Hebrews 11:1

11 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, [SUP][a][/SUP]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

So yes., the joy of the Lord is our strength and it's not about being joyful we are not taken care of but that we are. We can and must have a good and strong expectation that He will see us and move in our lives as we look to Him and not to the right or to the left. Expect good and not evil from Him. And ask Him how to do this because it is a process of right thinking.

 

[joaniemarie]

[video=youtube;wUxX-0sg-fM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUxX-0sg-fM[/video]

Amen., This young lady also has a beautiful voice. Good message in song!!

 

[joaniemarie]

the joy of the Lord is indeed our strength -- and His strength is made perfect in weakness

we are to "be thankful in all circumstances" -- which isn't the same, at every point in time, as joyful.

but for everyone whose life is in Him, darkness will become like morning

"why are you downcast, o my soul?
i will yet praise Him"

Being thankful in all circumstances because we have Jesus in life. I don't believe it means we are thankful for the rotten things that are happening to us or to embrace the rotten things that are happening to us., but that while we deal with these rotten things., we HAVE Jesus so we are JOYFUL and thankful even in these situations as well as other situations and more situations all and only because we have Jesus to look to in the good and the bad in our lives., He is always there with us.

Not that we have arrived perfectly to be able to do this each and every time but we press on each day by faith in Jesus and His love in and for us..... Phil.3:10-15

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly],

and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [[SUP][a][/SUP]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]
[SUP]

11 [/SUP]That if possible I may attain to the [[SUP][b][/SUP]spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].
[SUP]
12 [/SUP]Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.
[SUP]


13 [/SUP]I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
[SUP]
14 [/SUP]I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.
[SUP]


15 [/SUP]So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also.

 

[FlSnookman7]

I like Snoopy's way of handling the problems in life. I see this picture as a doggy who spent time the week before wondering how in the world was she ever going to get through this? The problem was overpowering., HUGE and impossible. The Dr.s ordered an ultra sound for a lump., and then a bills came out of no where. A fee of $12,000 in back taxes., and threat of health and loss of all home and hearth. What to do? How to do it?

Let it go and go to Jesus. The morning before my appointment and while waiting in the office I thought about how His love and grace has taken me this far and it says in the Bible to not look to the right or to the left. But straight a head to Jesus.

Isaiah 54:2 Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. Ok Lord., thank you for my home while in this world. I will praise you for your love and provision for me. It shall not end or be taken away from me.

Prepare for the blessings to come because in Jesus I am safe and secure. The world, the flesh and the devil take advantage of me at such times and want to turn my eyes off of my Provider. So I will keep my eyes on You Lord Jesus all the more as the days are evil especially during these impossible times. A lesson in steadfastness. Let not your heart be troubled.... Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you... let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Many times before learning this., I allowed the worry and trouble to double and sealed my own situation with a faithless outcome. But as I've grown., He is teaching me to dare to believe He will bring the best things to pass. So I placed my mind and body in His hands as I waited in the office to meet with the people who seemed to have my life in their hands.

The outcome? A solution not only to the tax problem but another solution to a problem that had nothing to do with this appointment but the financial advice given solved a bigger problem that I had before that was draining me emotionally., physically and spiritually.

I was like Snoopy here in that picture yet again as I often am JOYFUL whenever I think on the love of God in Christ for me. God is working in the lives of His people. He cares about us individually and especially when we are without support or able on our own without strength.

He takes up our cause and as Psalm 91 says., He is my Refuge and my Fortress if I look to the right or to the left and think of others who have lost their homes and jobs and all their finances I would not be looking at Jesus. I would not be dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and remaining stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty Whose power NO foe can withstand. I had to say and rest in the truth His love for me and be confident that because of Jesus I have a refuge from all this trouble.
[SUP]
1 [/SUP]He who [SUP][a][/SUP]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
[SUP]
2 [/SUP]I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
[SUP]
3 [/SUP]For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
[SUP]
4 [/SUP][Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
[SUP]
5 [/SUP]You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,
[SUP]
6 [/SUP]Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.
[SUP]
7 [/SUP]A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
[SUP]
8 [/SUP]Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.
[SUP]
9 [/SUP]Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,
[SUP]
10 [/SUP]There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.
[SUP]
11 [/SUP]For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of
obedience and service].
[SUP]
12 [/SUP]They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
[SUP]
13 [/SUP]You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.
[SUP]
14 [/SUP]Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
[SUP]
15 [/SUP]He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
[SUP]

16 [/SUP]With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

So now while I'm waiting for the ultra sound I'm doing so in the light of how Jesus took care of me all this time before and up till now so He will take care of me in these other matters too. He has proven His willingness to provide for me in all these times of trials as I look to Him and not to the right or to the left.

Knowing that in myself ., I don't deserve any of these blessings., but because of Jesus., I have been given all these blessings in and through the Holy Spirit IN Christ. I can't allow my unbelief to shut off the showers of blessings in Christ. Eph.1:3

[SUP]3 [/SUP]May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!

If it's any help to anyone who reads this., I'm an ordinary loner who is still healing from what caused me to be this way. There is nothing special about me and I have many faults. But in Christ I'm seen as His child and because of Jesus I'm blessed and cared for as a cherished daughter learning each day to see the impossible be part of life by faith. I've seen old thinking habits and strongholds demolished over the last 5 yrs. Hebrews 11:1

11 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, [SUP][a][/SUP]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

So yes., the joy of the Lord is our strength and it's not about being joyful we are not taken care of but that we are. We can and must have a good and strong expectation that He will see us and move in our lives as we look to Him and not to the right or to the left. Expect good and not evil from Him. And ask Him how to do this because it is a process of right thinking.

You are extraordinary and very special! Thank you for that testimony!

 

[Depleted]

patience helps.

life is in Him - it is to know Him. how much time does it take for man to get to know infinite God?
eternity. that life is eternal.

i compare the time that i am troubled to the eternity i will be in His presence

View attachment 175212


​

that understanding, and the trust that is its basis helps me be patient, & patience produces peace.

High Math illiterate here.

0, I get.
Infinite (sideways 8), I get.
What is tk?

?

(That's a Tastykake Krimpet, if you don't get the picture. lol)

 

[Depleted]

I like Snoopy's way of handling the problems in life. I see this picture as a doggy who spent time the week before wondering how in the world was she ever going to get through this? The problem was overpowering., HUGE and impossible. The Dr.s ordered an ultra sound for a lump., and then a bills came out of no where. A fee of $12,000 in back taxes., and threat of health and loss of all home and hearth. What to do? How to do it?

Let it go and go to Jesus. The morning before my appointment and while waiting in the office I thought about how His love and grace has taken me this far and it says in the Bible to not look to the right or to the left. But straight a head to Jesus.

Isaiah 54:2 Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. Ok Lord., thank you for my home while in this world. I will praise you for your love and provision for me. It shall not end or be taken away from me.

Prepare for the blessings to come because in Jesus I am safe and secure. The world, the flesh and the devil take advantage of me at such times and want to turn my eyes off of my Provider. So I will keep my eyes on You Lord Jesus all the more as the days are evil especially during these impossible times. A lesson in steadfastness. Let not your heart be troubled.... Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you... let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Many times before learning this., I allowed the worry and trouble to double and sealed my own situation with a faithless outcome. But as I've grown., He is teaching me to dare to believe He will bring the best things to pass. So I placed my mind and body in His hands as I waited in the office to meet with the people who seemed to have my life in their hands.

The outcome? A solution not only to the tax problem but another solution to a problem that had nothing to do with this appointment but the financial advice given solved a bigger problem that I had before that was draining me emotionally., physically and spiritually.

I was like Snoopy here in that picture yet again as I often am JOYFUL whenever I think on the love of God in Christ for me. God is working in the lives of His people. He cares about us individually and especially when we are without support or able on our own without strength.

He takes up our cause and as Psalm 91 says., He is my Refuge and my Fortress if I look to the right or to the left and think of others who have lost their homes and jobs and all their finances I would not be looking at Jesus. I would not be dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and remaining stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty Whose power NO foe can withstand. I had to say and rest in the truth His love for me and be confident that because of Jesus I have a refuge from all this trouble.
[SUP]
1 [/SUP]He who [SUP][a][/SUP]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
[SUP]
2 [/SUP]I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
[SUP]
3 [/SUP]For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
[SUP]
4 [/SUP][Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
[SUP]
5 [/SUP]You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,
[SUP]
6 [/SUP]Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.
[SUP]
7 [/SUP]A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
[SUP]
8 [/SUP]Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.
[SUP]
9 [/SUP]Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,
[SUP]
10 [/SUP]There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.
[SUP]
11 [/SUP]For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of
obedience and service].
[SUP]
12 [/SUP]They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
[SUP]
13 [/SUP]You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.
[SUP]
14 [/SUP]Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
[SUP]
15 [/SUP]He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
[SUP]

16 [/SUP]With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

So now while I'm waiting for the ultra sound I'm doing so in the light of how Jesus took care of me all this time before and up till now so He will take care of me in these other matters too. He has proven His willingness to provide for me in all these times of trials as I look to Him and not to the right or to the left.

Knowing that in myself ., I don't deserve any of these blessings., but because of Jesus., I have been given all these blessings in and through the Holy Spirit IN Christ. I can't allow my unbelief to shut off the showers of blessings in Christ. Eph.1:3

[SUP]3 [/SUP]May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!

If it's any help to anyone who reads this., I'm an ordinary loner who is still healing from what caused me to be this way. There is nothing special about me and I have many faults. But in Christ I'm seen as His child and because of Jesus I'm blessed and cared for as a cherished daughter learning each day to see the impossible be part of life by faith. I've seen old thinking habits and strongholds demolished over the last 5 yrs. Hebrews 11:1

11 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, [SUP][a][/SUP]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

So yes., the joy of the Lord is our strength and it's not about being joyful we are not taken care of but that we are. We can and must have a good and strong expectation that He will see us and move in our lives as we look to Him and not to the right or to the left. Expect good and not evil from Him. And ask Him how to do this because it is a process of right thinking.

I have had ultrasounds after mammograms twice (in the course of seven years) because of lumps. I have cysts. I'm not saying you will have the same outcome, just thought you'd like to know there is another choice besides the one you fear.

The first time, I spent quite a bit of my time between the ultrasound and someone getting back to me on the results not picturing that bridge I might have to cross in vivid detail, because I thought it could only mean one thing. (More time on Daddy's lap and my house was cleaner, so not wasted time. lol) The second time, was much easier because I knew there was another choice on what it might be.

That's why I'm letting you know, there is another choice.

 

[reneweddaybyday]

Amen., This young lady also has a beautiful voice. Good message in song!!

I love Kari Jobe. So refreshing to listen to her songs. She is a gifted and talented singer/songwriter, a true blessing to the body of Christ.

 

[maxwel]

High Math illiterate here.

0, I get.
Infinite (sideways 8), I get.
What is tk?

?

(That's a Tastykake Krimpet, if you don't get the picture. lol)

If you hold your keyboard sideways, it will make the infinity sign....

but only if you hold it sideways forever.

 

[Nehemiah6]

So guys and gals, does anyone have the magic answer as to how they kept their inner joy and peace while going through tragic times?

Well God has given you the "magic answer" so how come you still want one?

King James Bible (1 John 5:4)
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

 

[reneweddaybyday]

I heard this song this morning and was reminded of this thread. Words of encouragement when we're going through rough times.

[video=youtube;LJoABwNMzvM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJoABwNMzvM[/video]

 

[Gman]

Yes and no because let's always remember that the Lord God Almighty reigns and just as it is written, we should rejoice and be glad but in another place it says we change our laughter to gloom, why? Because of where we are in the world, because of what is happening in the world to people all around. Time is short and the days are evil... This not pleasing to God my Father, as a result I can't be all happy and laughing because many are hurting even though all is well in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

 

[Gman]

Me too, she's indeed a great gift to us all