“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”
Philippians 4:4
Have you seen the commercial with former NFL running back Ickey Woods? He is waiting in line at the meat counter.
The man behind the counter calls out “Number 44.” Ickey looks at his ticket and exclaims “Woah! That’s me!!!” He begins to dance while saying “Get some cold cuts, get some cold cuts… gonna get some cold cuts today!”
I don’t remember being that joyful when I picked up lunch meat at the grocery store. More than likely, I looked at the price on the label and thought about how expensive it was!
But we can choose an attitude of joyfulness in our everyday life.
Just like the choice we have at the restaurant, we have the option of small, medium or large.
A small thing might be that cup of coffee you are holding. Pick it up and breathe in the scent of the coffee beans, and if it’s really hot, feel the steam on your face.
Maybe you see something in nature that brings you joy. I’m thinking about a tree at the post office that has started to bloom, even though it’s February.
Medium joy choices come from our interactions with others. A smile from your sweetheart, the laughter of a child, or the story you heard from an elder, even if it’s the ninth time you heard it!
Large joy choices involve our Maker. Finding joy in the Lord.
I believe that we should praise and rejoice in the Lord FIRST in our prayers, before we start in with our list of needs.
Don’t rush… Praying the Psalms is a good way to rejoice in the Lord.
Maybe we can learn something from Ickey. Let’s find joy in the small as well as great things in life.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”
Think ~ “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”
Ephesians 4:29
Aretha Franklin, in the song “Think”, famously sang these words:
“You better think (think)
Think about what you’re trying to do to me…”
With apologies to the Queen of Soul, I’m going to replace the word DO with the word SAY.
“You better think (think)
Think about what you’re trying to SAY to me…”
In other words, we need to
“Think before we speak.”
I found a helpful acrostic on LinkedIn this morning.
THINK
T- is it true?
H- is it helpful?
I- is it inspiring?
N- is it necessary?
K- is it kind?
I’m probably not going to remember every word of the acrostic, but I will remember the principle of it. (I did write it down and I plan on using it as a bookmark.)
So, when I’m upset and tempted to say something unkind, I will take a deep breath and… THINK.
Let’s agree with David, who prayed:
“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.”
“Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.”
Ecclesiastes 7:10
Do you find yourself thinking about the “good old days?” Wishing that things were like they were before?
I think we all do that from time to time. We look at the past with “rose-colored glasses.” In other words, we intentionally forget the bad things.
Billy Joel, in the song “Keeping the Faith,” sang:
“‘Cause the good ole days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.”
The children of Israel were missing the “good old days.” Things were getting hard in the wilderness, so they started complaining to Moses.
“The sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Exodus 16:3
What they chose to forget was that they were in slavery in Egypt. Back then, they cried out to God for deliverance, because the bondage was difficult and cruel.
They also forgot God’s recent miracles. Hint: parting of the Red Sea, and deliverance from Pharaoh’s army.
It’s ok to think about the past, on occasion. Just don’t live there…
One good thing to remember from the past is God’s blessings, healing, and answered prayer!
