COUNT IT ALL JOY

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! v.18 So we don't  look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, v.3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

I was challenged this morning by the Lord. Am I going to wallow in self pity or am I going to shake it off and walk in faith.? Am I going to rehearse my hurts or am I going to count my blessings? 

Do you ever find that hurts don't just come from one source? The enemy will throw hurt at you from several directions at once and then remind you of past hurts as well which will make you feel oppressed. We have to know how to handle it or we shall go under from the pain of  it.

We all have a choice and according to that choice will be the amount of joy or sadness we experience and walk in. Are we going to allow the hurts and the misunderstanding, the untruths and the disappointments to be uppermost in our thinking or are we going to elevate Jesus, the Author and Developer of our Faith?  Who and what is going to be uppermost in our minds today?

As for me, I am going to choose to dwell on the goodness of God and His faithfulness, His great mercy and forgiveness for me when I need it so I can forgive others and let God be my vindicator when others think ill of me.

We have a God of hope and comfort. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, Counsellor, Teacher, the One who comes alongside and is our Helper.  He knows the truth about us whether it's good or bad and He still ministers the love and grace of God to our hearts because God loves us so much and the price He paid for us was so high with the blood of Jesus.  We matter to God and He has good plans for each one of us. When we hurt He hurts and wants to heal the brokenhearted and restore our souls.

One thing to remember from our verse is that the things we see, hear or experience are only temporary, they will pass, but the things that really matter are eternal. Those things are the love of God, His Word, His power and grace which are available to us 24/7 and He has sealed us with His Holy Spirit to spend eternity with Him. Those are the things that matter most and everything else will lose their power to overwhelm us in the light of God's truths.

If your soul needs restoring today why not pray this prayer with me today

Heavenly Father, I thank You for your great love for me and that you understand everything about me. Nothing is hidden from You and You have the answer to every problem. Lord by faith I receive Your balm for every hurt, the strength for every challenge and the courage to defeat every enemy.  My eyes are on You Lord and I trust You to help me today to count it all joy because it is all working for my good and my glory. I thank You and praise You Lord for You are Good and nothing is impossible with You. You have prepared good things for me to walk into in the coming days and I take them by faith in Jesus Name. Amen.