I’m sure you have discovered that some days are more challenging than other days, but we don’t have to be miserable, frustrated and unhappy in difficult places. There always seems to be different things happening that can affect our plans. We must learn that our joy is not based on our circumstances. We have to find a way to stay happy, even when our circumstances don’t suit us or we don’t get a breakthrough as quickly as we’d like. God will always give us the ability to get though our circumstances with joy because His grace is made available to us each and every day. If God asks us to stay in a situation, then He is going to give us a special grace, for a special season, to experience His peace and joy despite the circumstances. It’s the kind of grace that causes other people to look at us and think I’m just amazed you are able to do this and still have so much joy and peace.

As Christians, I believe the attitude we live with and the level of joy, peace and stability seen in our life is what will speak to the people around us much more than if we try to preach to them. It’s about how we live our life in front of them, especially when things are not going perfectly for us all the time. The same way we receive Christ is the same way we are supposed to live each day of our life in total, complete dependence on God. Too often we struggle with ourselves and our weaknesses, but what we really need to do is just give our situations to God and learn to trust and wait on Him to work things out for us. The Bible tells us that all things will work together for our good if we are called to His purposes and by casting our cares upon the Lord, the things we are concerned about will just dissipate because of the power of God in our life.

Think about the good things in your life and be thankful and grateful for them. Spend time in prayer just thanking God for all He has already done for you. It’s so easy to spend time asking God for this or that but make it a point to say ‘thank you’ each and every day. No matter how difficult your situation may be, someone wishes that they had it as good as you do. God is good and God is faithful. Don’t lean to your own understanding on why things are the way they are. Praise God for who He is and grab a hold of His amazing grace. Walk in His light and experience His joy and His peace no matter what is going on in your life. You have a lot to be thankful for and if anyone asks tell them that the joy of the Lord is your strength!