You Will Find Joy

James 1:1-12

How do you find joy in hardships and troubles?  How do you keep from drowning in your sorrows?  Maybe it's all about attitude and what I've been learning for the past several months.  Maybe it's all about giving thanks.  Even when faced with hardships and troubles, it's possible to change your focus and give thanks.  It's impossible to keep grumbling, complaining, and whining while you are being thankful.  It's all about your expectations out of life.  Notice the passage says "whenever you face troubles" (NIV).  Not IF, but WHEN.  There is no question of whether troubles will come.  The question is how we will manage them.  The Voice says, "As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them."   Notice it says ULTIMATELY.  

Maybe we should look at the difference between joy and happiness.  This is a concept that has been in my heart for awhile.  Check out my previous post about this very subject:
http://angel-memoriesforgotten.blogspot.com/2012/02/happiness-vs-joy.html

The good news is we don't go through these hardships alone.  God is always there with us.  "If you don't have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need.  He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking." (VOICE)  We don't have to go through anything alone.  All we have to do is ask and God will give us what we need.  That is reassuring to me, how about you?

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Thanksgiving for today
512.  My sous chef
513.  Finding fun other than TV or computer on a snow day
514.  Sleeping in
515.  Goals
516.  That shoveling snow is still exciting
517.  PJ Day
518.  Online Shopping
519.  KDOT and city workers who will clear my streets