Last night we had a wonderful time with friends. Our hearts were full and so were our spirits. We laughed…alot!
Laughter is good for the body and the soul.
“A happy heart ·is like good medicine [L brings healing], but a broken spirit ·drains your strength [L dries up bone].” Proverbs 17:22 EXB
“A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.” Proverbs 17:22 MSG
It’s good to have our hearts filled with joy. Left unchecked sorrow and sadness can elevate to discouragement, and disease. Dis-ease. Dis-courage. To lose courage and be ill-at-ease can leave the body and the mind drained and bone tired.
“…Today is a special day to our Lord. Don’t be sad, because the joy of the Lord will make you strong.” Nehemiah 8:10 ERV
Every one of us will have troublesome situations. That’s just part of living on planet earth, however, we are not left to our own devices. We have God’s promise that end result will be good.
“Praise the Lord, because he is good. Praise his name, because it brings such joy!” Psalm 135:3 ERV
The Bible teaches us how to handle hardship. David faced Goliath, Daniel encountered a lion’s den, the disciples thought they would drown at sea, Paul and Silas were beaten and jailed. But they all came through victorious because they placed their trust in God.
God doesn’t create the problem but He does provide the victory.
“ We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose,” Romans 8:28 CEV
Having a merry heart and trusting God is a choice.
No one knows what this year of 2023 will present to us, but we can make the determination of how we will handle each situation, the simple and the difficult, the good and the adverse. We can choose to trust God to handle every circumstance, to be at work for our good. He will strengthen us and fill our lives with courage and joy.
Choose to live well – live with a merry heart!