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“May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him…”  Romans 15:13a (NIV)

 How can we be happy? Has that ever rung in our minds before? It has mine. It usually hits at times when I am feeling pretty good. And it doesn’t happen all the time. Far from it. But when it does happen, these are the types of questions I hear:

 “How can you be happy when you are not near your family?”

“How can you be happy when you haven’t yet accomplished everything you want?”

“How can you be happy when you don’t have children?”

“How can you be happy when people you know are struggling?”

“How can you be happy knowing there is serious suffering in the world?”

 And then I: Stop. Think. Answer. Hey, there is nothing wrong with talking to ourselves! So, here’s what we can say:

 “I can have JOY at all times. Regardless of who I am with. Regardless of what I am doing. Regardless of my circumstances or the circumstances of those around me. I can have JOY because of God.”

 Romans 15:13 tells us that we can be filled with JOY and PEACE because the God of HOPE can fill us up in that way. So, regardless of what the world, others, ourselves, or even Satan (yep, He’s real) tells us…don’t worry about happiness. Instead, choose joy.

 “Dear Lord, Thank You for this season. Help me to appreciate the beauty and serenity…and to find JOY in each and every day You have given me.”

For His Glory,

 Laurel Shaler (www.drlaurelshaler.com)
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