Choosing joy
Philippians 4 is probably my favorite chapter in the Bible. To read it in The Message enriches its truths in profound ways to me. Enjoy these excepts: Stay on track, steady in God. Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I do want you to experience the blessing that issues from generosity. Don't you want to stop and ponder through each of these? All positive, except one. Against steadily staying on track, celebrating God, thinking wholesomely, experiencing generosity is "don't fret or worry". Worry gets us off track, kills our celebratory attitude, refocuses our thoughts and promotes what we don't have while blinding us to what we do have. Joy is a choice that we make continually throughout each day. Choose joy today and put worry where it belongs - completely away.
