Choose Joy... Choose Peace

Perhaps choosing joy is a subject that you feel irrelevant. Perhaps you feel like it isn't that simple, or that it is influenced by too many factors, and too many other people. However, the choices we make concerning our attitude make us who we are. Choosing joy, choosing peace, these are just as important to the Christian walk, as choosing love and choosing unity.

I believe choosing to live with a joyful attitude, affects our ability to love. When we present a grumpy and upset attitude towards others, they don’t feel very loved. When we have patience with them and rejoice alongside them, we are wrapping them in love by our actions and words. I want to challenge you to commit to living and making joyful and peaceful choices this week. When things don't go the way you expect, choose to respond in peace. How does that look? It looks like not exploding over things beyond your control. It looks like calming your anxiety and anger. This is not an easy task that I am giving you. It will take everything you have to maintain a peaceful voice and facial expression, but you will notice a change, not only in your life, but in the lives of the people around you. Perhaps, because I work with young children every day, I see this truth play out very rapidly. Young children don't take a long time to process their emotions. When they're scared, they instantly act like it. When they don't get their way, they instantly act upset or sad. So, when I respond in a calm attitude, it flows off into their little lives. I can instantly see how the calm I am projecting leads to calm in their lives. The wonderful thing about it is that when I have responded calmly and lovingly to one of these little ones, more often than not, I will immediately see that child responding to another child with almost identical, mannerisms, and words. When we only communicate and deal with adults, however, we may not see the instant results of our attitude shift. This does it mean that it is not making an impact. Adults simply take longer to process a change of emotions than children do.

In all honesty, choosing joy and peace is not always easy. Experience has taught me though, that God will never abandon me. I don’t have need to live in turmoil because I have given over control to God. This world is not intended to be a joyride. I am past the midpoint of my life. I have lived through, experienced, and been sustained through many different things that life is thrown at me. I'm sure you have too. Nobody makes it through life unscathed. If you look back at your life, you will see all the times God has carried you through. The fact that you are alive, breathing, and reading this devotion means that God has carried you through every obstacle, trial, moment of persecution, moment of backsliding, weakness of faith, triumph, and failure. Life is a roller coaster, but God is at the control panel. I don’t need to try to steer from the backseat. I can relax and enjoy the view. I choose to accept that I cannot control – well, very little. I choose to remember God's power and mercy. I choose to hand over my worries and my cares to Him because they are so much smaller in His hands. I choose joy and peace, love and forgiveness, and I challenge you to do the same.

(Written by Keegan Harkins.)