I like routines and schedules. I might appear happy-go-lucky and carefree, but I get uptight when my life is disrupted. So you can imagine how well I’m dealing with 2020: Nothing is routine, and the unexpected is the only constant. UGH!!!
Last week, a woman I work with lost her husband to a long battle with illness. I had no idea! (I mean, I’m new here, but still…!) She is always smiling. I had no clue she was dealing with such tragedy. Our boss said this woman told him that she wakes up each morning and chooses joy.
Wow. I was so convicted. I’m dealing with the inconvenience of a disrupted schedule, and I let that affect my moods. This woman, on the other hand, slowly lost the love of her life, and she chooses joy.
What’s the difference?
Attitude.
We can’t always change our circumstances. We can’t make Covid go away, we can’t make things go back to “normal”, we can’t make sick people well or angry people happy or any number of other situations that are beyond our control. But we can control the way we handle those circumstances.
Believers have within us the Fruit of the Spirit. This is one of the gifts God gives those who know Him. It is a fruit that God will grow in us as we seek Him and mature in Him. That means we have within us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the ability to choose joy and peace and patience, even when circumstances aren’t what we want them to be.
Friends, we may not love what’s happening around us, or to us. But we are not powerless in the face of difficult circumstances. Ask God to help you as you choose joy today, as you choose patience, as you choose peace. Claim that fruit, even if your emotions aren’t there yet. We don’t have to be led by our emotions. We should be led by the Holy Spirit, who teaches and guides, convicts and comforts.
