Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 15:13-18
Prov 15:13-18
A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
Phil 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
There have been countless self-help books that have been written, telling us that we can be happy by just thinking that we are happy. If we maintain a positive attitude, it does not matter what happens, we can still smile and be happy. This sounds good and it does work to some extent but in the end, it is hollow and is based on humanistic philosophy, extolling our own strength and control.
When we rejoice in the Lord always, we have a solid basis for our joy and as a bonus it gives us peace that surpasses understanding. This is because our joy and our positive attitude is grounded in Jesus, not in ourselves. The Bible does teach us to have a positive attitude. It even goes so far as to tell us that complaining and grumbling is sin. The Israelites were punished for their complaining.
When we live by faith in Jesus, we can rejoice always, even in the midst of trials and problems. Paul and Peter both rejoiced when persecuted because they were counted worthy of suffering with Jesus their Lord. We will have problems in life, even pain and suffering. This is a part of life. But when we put our trust in God to get us through it all, we can have a positive attitude and we can rejoice in the Lord because we know he is always near to us. Depending on what we are facing, this may be easier said than done but we can do it! Jesus is always near!
O Lord God, give me greater faith to actively trust you, no matter what happens to me in this life. Help me trust you more in the small things that are a part of everyday life. Give me a heart of thankfulness, even when things seem to be going all wrong. Give me a glad heart and a happy face so others will see Jesus living in me. The more I trust you, the happier I will be, and the happier that I am, the kinder I will be, which makes life better for all. I pray in Jesus name.
Robert
