So, when you are tempted to say to God, “I wish I looked like someone else,” or “I wish I could do this or that like them,” don’t say it. Be satisfied with who God made you to be. Remember that He made you exactly who He wants you to be. If you try to be like somebody else, you will miss the beautiful life God has planned specially for you.
7. Let God invade every area of your life. A major change that God helped me make years ago was to stop dividing my life into what I thought was spiritual and non-spiritual. Somehow I had fallen into a religious trap of feeling like the only time I was pleasing God was when I was doing something spiritual such as praying, reading the Bible or ministering at church.
But the Bible says that whatever we do, we are to do it as unto the Lord (see Col. 3:23). This means that God wants to be included when we are shopping for groceries, pumping gas and combing our hair just as much as when we are praying or reading the Word.
The truth is none of us can live in a church service, a Bible study or on our knees in prayer. There are many practical aspects to our lives, and God expects us to take care of them too. In fact, I believe He anoints us to live ordinary, everyday lives in victory and with joy.
When we decide to let God out of our “Sunday morning box” and into every area of our lives, we’ll begin to experience His joy and peace more than ever before.
Remember, enjoying the abundant life Jesus died to give you is based on a decision you make—not on your circumstances (see John 10:10). Joy is God’s gift to us, but some of us have never even opened the package! God is just waiting for you to do so. He is the glory and the lifter of our heads (see Ps. 3:3). Satan wants to pull us down, but Jesus came to lift us up!
Start celebrating your life. Don’t just endure your days—enjoy your days. Smile. It will give your face and your spirit a lift.
Find some good, clean entertainment or get with some Christian friends and cut loose and laugh. “A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (Prov. 17:22, The Amplified Bible).
Every morning when you wake up, before you even get out of bed, I encourage you to declare out loud, “I am going to enjoy this day!” Decide to be happy right where you are and to enjoy the life you have right now—on the way to where you are going.
Make a firm decision to enjoy your journey. When you do, you will begin to experience the abundant, joy-filled life that Jesus died to give you.
Joyce Meyer is the prolific author of several best-selling books. Portions of this article were adapted from Seven Things That Steal Your Joy. Published by Warner Faith.
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