In Nehemiah 8:10(NLT), the prophet had to remind God’s people who they were and to remember who God is to them. Nehemiah said, “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!” They had forgotten to celebrate the Lord, and sometimes we forget too. How many Christians in this day and age would say they truly know what joy feels like? If you could count how many days you feel good, full of life, friendly and just happy to be alive, you may shock yourself at the number. Would the number be high or low? I believe taking the time to sit back and take stock of our days and how we spend them is a very important practice. God reminds us in Ephesians 5:16 to redeem our time wisely. This suggests to us that time is a precious gift from our Creator. It is a resource that requires wisdom for its proper use. So, when we examine our days, those of the past and those of the present, and we calculate that our joyful days do not outweigh the sad ones, you can trust that there’s a new thing the Father wants to show you.
A daily emotional check-up
Romans 5:12 tells us that by one man, sin entered the world. This man was the first man, Adam. He and his wife, Eve, disobeyed God’s Word, bowed to the devil, and made a conscious decision to listen to satan rather than to trust and obey the Word of God. They were commanded not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, because if they did, they would face an incredibly devastating consequence. They ignored God’s command and did exactly what He had told them not to do. Romans 5:12 tells us that sin took root by this singular act of disobedience, and the death sin causes became imbedded in humanity. It is passed on from generation to generation. Every person that is born into this planet is born with sin in their makeup.
Sin, the propensity for bad behavior, poor judgement, and wrong choices, is in our make-up. Now that we’re born again, 2Corinthians 5:17 tells us that our human-spirit is re-created. We are new creations in Christ and the old things are passed away. Now, we live by faith! 2Corinthians 5:7 says we live by believing and not by seeing. Our spirits are brand new, but our minds and hearts are not. They have to be renewed, and God has made renewing them our responsibility.
We have to do an emotional check-up on ourselves on a daily basis. Let’s face it, some days are tough. It’s miserable when you wake up in the morning without a zestful feeling of confidence in your heart and mind, but it helps to know that these are remnants of that old sin problem that Adam started thousands of years ago. The Apostle Paul said it right when he told Timothy in
1Timothy 6:12 to fight the good fight of the faith. Our Heavenly Father knew we’d have to fight to keep our minds and hearts in a place of strength. This is why He’s given us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to help us overcome feelings of unhappiness and insecurity.
The joy of the Lord
A few years ago, I struggled with feeling good. I would wake up in the morning dreading the day, and the day after that. One morning, I just asked God to help me find joy in life, to create in me a new heart and zeal for life. I heard a slight whisper in my head as I was driving to work, telling me, “BE how you want to feel.” This made all the difference in my approach. I had lived life by letting my feelings and emotions dictate my day. If something was bothering me, I’d get down on myself and things would get worse from there. God shifted this paradigm for me, because I know from His Word that when He tells us to BE something—to BE of good courage, to BE strong, and to BE holy, He is reminding us to stick with the plan. He’s telling us to remember who we are. We can BE those things because we ARE those things.
It’s a discipline to renew our minds and change our thoughts, because renewal is a moment by moment decision and process. It will take the rest of our lives. Adam and Eve took the word of satan over the Word of God. We can’t follow in their footsteps. If we’ll have faith and stand on His Word, Jesus Christ will take control of our days, and the Holy Spirit will confirm in our spirits that the joy of the Lord is forever our strength. The more we make a decision to shift our minds and hearts to what God says instead of what our condition or circumstances say, we give Him the opening He’s looking for, and He will show us a new thing.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“BE the Change You Want to See” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.