Philippians is my favorite book of the Bible and chapter 4 is my favorite chapter. There are so very many powerful verses in that chapter that it just speaks to me every time I read even a small part of it. Verse 4 tells us to “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.”
Many things of this world give us so many daily problems. Many Americans have health problems--diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, various cancers. My dear friend since childhood, Sandra,who has stage 4 liver cancer, now is on oxygen all the time and has recently been diagnosed with walking pneumonia. While our nation is supposed to be recovering from severe economic problems, there are still many without jobs and those who have lost their homes due to foreclosure. We can look around the world and see fighting and unrest in so very many countries, like Libya, Egypt and many others. We see natural disasters such as the recent earthquake and tsunamis in Japan and elsewhere. We sometimes wonder, “what in the world is there to rejoice about?”
As if that’s not enough, statistics tell us that “almost five children die everyday as a result of child abuse. Bell County (where I live) ranks fifth in the state of Texas for deaths from child abuse. Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions (in fact, fundumental religious groups, such as Baptists have some of the highest percentages of abuse) and at all levels of education. The estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2007 was 104 billion dollars. While the deaths from child abuse are tragic, abuse has a profound effect on the victims of abuse even after they become adults. 36% of all women in prison were abused as children. Adults who were abused as children suffer from eating disorders, low self-esteem, a sense of guilt, feelings of shame, nightmares, flashbacks, even PTSD, and so much more.
It’s a fact that men and women who were abused as children have many problems in adulthood because of that abuse. You could look at my childhood of sexual abuse and wonder “what does Judy have to rejoice about?” I am and have been for a long time, a joyful person. Jesus has filled my heart with joy since I was 7 years old. Oh yes, I’ve had times when I’ve had to fight against depression. I’ve had to battle terrible nightmares, anxiety attacks, feelings of guilt and shame and more problems. There have been some rough times in my life but Jesus has always been with me. As a young woman, I was so blessed of God that He gave me such a wonderful husband who would help me work through these problems. God gave me a man who loved Him and who knew how to love me. If I had nothing else good in my life, that would be enough to rejoice about. God has given me more though.
The attitude that we take about our life will have a profound effect on our happiness or lack of happiness. We can choose to be miserable and make all those around us miserable or we can choose to see the joy in our lives. My friend, Sandra who has cancer, has many reasons to give up on life right now and to be miserable. She chooses not to do that. She doesn't want to be miserable and make all of those around her miserable also. She chooses to praise Jesus and thank Him for each day that He gives her. We hope that she will have many more days on this earth to praise God but we can know that however many days He gives her, she is going to make the best of it. It is up to each person as to what we will make of our lives. Yes, sometimes life gives us a raw deal because of diseases or because of a childhood of abuse but it is still up to us to choose what we will do with our life. I may not have every little thing that I want but I do have all that I need. And I choose to have joy in my life.
If you look at your life, no matter how difficult or bad it is, I’m sure you can find something to rejoice about. The thing is that no matter what kind of a life we have, we can choose how we will approach our life. We can choose to be bitter, mean and hateful and to hate everything about our life if we wish. We can make ourselves and everyone around us miserable. We can choose to tolerate our lives because we don’t have too many other choices and just move through each day not really making any difference to anyone. Or we can choose to “rejoice in the Lord.” Not just because the Bible commands it but because we choose it. We can choose joy.
Many things of this world give us so many daily problems. Many Americans have health problems--diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, various cancers. My dear friend since childhood, Sandra,who has stage 4 liver cancer, now is on oxygen all the time and has recently been diagnosed with walking pneumonia. While our nation is supposed to be recovering from severe economic problems, there are still many without jobs and those who have lost their homes due to foreclosure. We can look around the world and see fighting and unrest in so very many countries, like Libya, Egypt and many others. We see natural disasters such as the recent earthquake and tsunamis in Japan and elsewhere. We sometimes wonder, “what in the world is there to rejoice about?”
As if that’s not enough, statistics tell us that “almost five children die everyday as a result of child abuse. Bell County (where I live) ranks fifth in the state of Texas for deaths from child abuse. Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions (in fact, fundumental religious groups, such as Baptists have some of the highest percentages of abuse) and at all levels of education. The estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2007 was 104 billion dollars. While the deaths from child abuse are tragic, abuse has a profound effect on the victims of abuse even after they become adults. 36% of all women in prison were abused as children. Adults who were abused as children suffer from eating disorders, low self-esteem, a sense of guilt, feelings of shame, nightmares, flashbacks, even PTSD, and so much more.
It’s a fact that men and women who were abused as children have many problems in adulthood because of that abuse. You could look at my childhood of sexual abuse and wonder “what does Judy have to rejoice about?” I am and have been for a long time, a joyful person. Jesus has filled my heart with joy since I was 7 years old. Oh yes, I’ve had times when I’ve had to fight against depression. I’ve had to battle terrible nightmares, anxiety attacks, feelings of guilt and shame and more problems. There have been some rough times in my life but Jesus has always been with me. As a young woman, I was so blessed of God that He gave me such a wonderful husband who would help me work through these problems. God gave me a man who loved Him and who knew how to love me. If I had nothing else good in my life, that would be enough to rejoice about. God has given me more though.
The attitude that we take about our life will have a profound effect on our happiness or lack of happiness. We can choose to be miserable and make all those around us miserable or we can choose to see the joy in our lives. My friend, Sandra who has cancer, has many reasons to give up on life right now and to be miserable. She chooses not to do that. She doesn't want to be miserable and make all of those around her miserable also. She chooses to praise Jesus and thank Him for each day that He gives her. We hope that she will have many more days on this earth to praise God but we can know that however many days He gives her, she is going to make the best of it. It is up to each person as to what we will make of our lives. Yes, sometimes life gives us a raw deal because of diseases or because of a childhood of abuse but it is still up to us to choose what we will do with our life. I may not have every little thing that I want but I do have all that I need. And I choose to have joy in my life.
If you look at your life, no matter how difficult or bad it is, I’m sure you can find something to rejoice about. The thing is that no matter what kind of a life we have, we can choose how we will approach our life. We can choose to be bitter, mean and hateful and to hate everything about our life if we wish. We can make ourselves and everyone around us miserable. We can choose to tolerate our lives because we don’t have too many other choices and just move through each day not really making any difference to anyone. Or we can choose to “rejoice in the Lord.” Not just because the Bible commands it but because we choose it. We can choose joy.
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