Laura Rath ~ Journey in Faith

Finding Joy in Life

Welcome! This week we are in Chapter 3, “Enjoyment…Enjoying God and Life” in our study of Finally Free by Kim Tabor.

I’ve been thinking about what it means to enjoy life and started to write about it, when I realized I was basically rewriting a previous post.

So, instead of trying to rework it, I’ve decided to share the original post…

Joy and Happiness (First posted on January 6, 2012)

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (James 1:2-4 NLT)

My natural question is – How can I be happy when trouble comes my way? Whether through my own actions or those of another, how can I be joyful through unemployment, illness, loss of a loved one, divorce, and so many other issues we deal with today?

I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about joy and happiness over the past couple of years, and I think it comes down to this... Joy and happiness are not the same.

Joy comes from knowing the Lord and having a personal relationship with Him.

Joy is not dependent on our circumstances or the people in our life. It is the deep feeling of contentment in knowing Christ walks beside us every day – through trials, disappointments, and sorrows.

Happiness is dependent on others and life around us. Happiness can be temporary. When things are going well, I feel happy. When life throws me a curve ball, my happiness turns to disappointment, frustration, anger, and sadness.

Life changing situations that cause me unhappiness are the very times my faith and relationship with God can grow deeper and stronger through my dependence on Him.

I can be happy and joyful at the same time, but when something or someone makes me unhappy in my everyday life, my joy still comes from knowing God won’t ever leave me.

His love and desire for a relationship with me is forever, no matter what. He stays and gets me through the unhappiness.

He can use any situation, happy or otherwise, to prepare me for what He has planned for my future. The knowledge that God wants to refine me and prepare me for the future brings me joy and hope.

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Philippians 4:4 NLT

What does it mean to you to enjoy life?

In Christ,

Laura

Linking up with Winsome Wednesday, Thought Provoking Thursday, Faith Filled Friday, and The Weekend Brew.

Saying Yes Means Saying No

Confession…I can’t do it all.

I’ve tried, but it rarely works.

If, by chance, it looks like I’m doing it all—don’t be fooled. I’m completely stressed out and miserable. Not exactly worth “doing it all.”

So, I have to be honest with myself.

As much as I would like it to be different, I only have so much time and energy.

There are decisions to be made.

If I spend my day shopping at the mall, I won’t be home to clean the house.

If I decide cleaning the house is my priority, I won’t be able to watch a movie with my daughter.

Saying “yes” to one, means saying “no” to another.

The same holds true when we’re pursuing God-sized dreams.

God-sized Dream = A desire in your heart for more of what God has for you. ~Holley Gerth

Opportunities present themselves and we have to discern which will move us forward and which will not.

It won’t be easy. After all, who wants to turn down an opportunity?

I know I didn’t…but I had to.

I recently received three invitations. Two were to write guest blog posts to be online in March, and one was to co-host an (in)RL Meetup (a local gathering for a world-wide conference) in April.

I wanted to take them all on. But I knew I couldn’t.

I had to ask myself…what could I realistically commit my time to, and which of the three choices could I accomplish to the best of my ability?

Writing is where I feel God leading me, so I gladly accepted both writing projects.

But it was co-hosting the (in)RL Meetup that I needed to think and pray about. It would take time to plan and coordinate—time I really don’t have, unless I take it from other areas, like family and writing.

I had to decline, which was graciously accepted with understanding.

Saying “yes” to the writing projects meant I had to say “no” to co-hosting.

It was the decision I had to make because I know I can’t do it all…and I’m okay with admitting that.

When has saying “yes” to something meant you had to say “no” to something else?

In Christ,