SMILING MAKES ME THIN

1 Thessalonians 5:16 AMPC Be happy (in your faith) and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always);

I saw this sign and it made me chuckle “Smiling makes me thin!” I think anyone who has tried to lose weight at any time would wish that statement was true, and there would be a lot of smiling people going around!😊

But we all know smiling helps us physically as well as emotionally, and our verse encourages us today to ‘always be glad hearted’. But how do we do that when things come against us or we’re sad about something?

Being glad hearted or rejoicing doesn’t depend on our outward circumstances being wonderful, but it’s an inner peace and contentment. It’s an inside job of having joy in our spirit despite what’s going on around us.

Every one of us who knows Jesus as Lord has His Spirit on the inside of us and He puts His joy, His peace and love within us when He comes. We can then choose to tap into those things when the pressure is on us to be miserable or depressed. Our verse reminds us to be happy in our faith and that’s because it’s our faith that overcomes the world, and whatever seeks to pull us down. (1 John 5:4). 

If we take our eyes off Jesus and all He has done for us we can find ourselves sliding down a slippery slope of despair but when we remember we are still a deeply loved child of God, forgiven and chosen by Him to be His special treasure, then we will be able to still rejoice and always be glad hearted because those truths have not changed one bit and they will last forever, through every up or down.

So next time something tries to steal our smile, let’s remember to tap into our inner joy and all that God has done for us in Jesus, and even if our circumstances are difficult or they haven’t changed, let’s choose to give Him thanks with a grateful, glad heart for all the blessings we do have.😊 Amen.

Have a blessed weekend, a glad heart, and keep smiling.x😊

Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

GOD IS THE MASTER PLANNER

Isaiah 64:4 NLT For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!

When birthdays and Christmas are coming up a lot of people prepare all sorts of lovely surprises for their loved ones. It might be a box of small presents that make them smile or a bigger present they’ve been hoping for all year. It may be the preparation of a scrumptious meal but these things all take planning and preparation.

God is the Master Planner and we know His main plan has always been our salvation through the Lord Jesus coming to earth to be the sacrifice for our sins, for our healing, for our restoration and reconciliation to our Heavenly Father. What a glorious plan!

Psalm 31:19 NLT How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world. God doesn’t stop there though, because He also has plans for our every day lives, to bless us here and now because our verse says it will be before the watching world! He’s talking in our lifetime not in the sweet by and by. The CEV translation says it this way: You are wonderful, and while everyone watches, you store up blessings for all who honor and trust you.

God wants us to have a sense of expectancy, to stir our spirits up to look forward to seeing not just His goodness but His great goodness. It says He lavishes it on us because that is the heart of our God. He is generous to the enth degree but we have to honour Him and come to Him trusting in His promises, not second guessing them or thinking they’re for somebody else. When our trust is in God alone then they are for us, right now.😊

I hope that has stirred our faith today to know and believe God is actively working in the background of our lives, not only saving our souls for eternity which is huge, but to bring us into all He has planned and prepared for us at this time, from before the world was made, which is quite a thought!😊 Thank You Lord. Amen.

Photo by Andrey Soldatov on Unsplash