MerryHeart | Kristi's Morning Devotional

January 6, 2023January 6, 2023

Be Heart Happy!

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 [^Lbrings healing], but a broken spirit ·drains your strength [^Ldries 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!

September 5, 2021September 7, 2021

Good Morning!

This will be a good day! Why? It’s the day the Lord has made and everything that God does is good.

“The Lord made this happen, and we think it is wonderful! ²⁴This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be happy today!” Psalm 118:23-24 ERV

Sometimes we are tempted to look at a day with angst. The things that transpired the day before have us wondering if this day with be filled with more of the same stress and anxiety. We can choose to stew and fret or we can look for the blessings that the Lord has ordained for us.

I’ll admit, I was doing more of the first when my day started this morning. Yesterday was filled with challenging situations. I almost let it get me down but the longer I sat here, joy began to bubble up in my heart. I’m not going to let frustration captivate my day.

I choose joy!

“Let all who run to you
for protection
always sing joyful songs.
Provide shelter for those
who truly love you
and let them rejoice.” Psalm 5:11 CEV

If you are having a hard time greeting the day with joy, spend some time in prayer telling the Lord what it is that has captured your peace and trust Him to take care of it for you. He will!

Begin listing all those things that you are grateful for and you will soon find that joy and peace return and you will be strengthened.

Choose Joy!

February 26, 2021February 26, 2021

Smile & Feel Better

Today’s blog is amazingly practical.

Late yesterday Dave and I were watching a program on television that was dealing with some real life, very emotional issues that face teenagers. They were completely without hope and it left both of us sad and downcast.

I knew I couldn’t let this premeate our evening or we’d both go to bed feeling depressed. I asked him to find something funny we could watch, “I need something to make me laugh”. He switched to YouTube and there we found old clips of Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. We watched a few of those and then Dave found an old Abbott & Costello movie – more laughter.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” Proverbs 17:22 NLT

“Happiness makes you smile; sorrow can crush you.” Proverbs 15:13 CEV

We went to bed last night with a smile on our faces and our spirits were lifted.

Somedays it’s hard to be joyful. I understand that completely but we must take these verses on joy and happiness for what they are – instructions from the Lord. He wants us to have a glad heart, He wants us to be “care free” and roll all our worries over on Him. When we do He promises to replace our worries with His strength.

“Ezra said to them, “Go, eat and drink what you enjoy, and give some to him who has nothing ready. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be sad for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 NLV

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” I Peter 5:7 NLV

A couple of weeks ago I had to go into the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for my mother. As I was standing in line waiting for the pharmacist the woman at the counter turned and looked at me. Behind her mask, I saw that her eyes were filled with sadness. She turned back and then turned around one more time, we made eye contact and I gave her my biggest smile, behind my mask. She said to me “I can tell you are smiling. Your eyes are twinkling. Thank you I needed that”. I said a simple “God bless you” and our encounter was over.

Lord, I want you to use me and all who read this to bring joy to a hurting world. We have a message to proclaim “Joy to the world, the Lord has come”!

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed… ³To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.” Isaiah 61:1-3 NLT

The words above were written about Jesus. This is why He came – He came to bring God’s favor (His life) to the earth.

The next time you are feeling down ask the Lord to fill your heart with joy. He will! With joy will come strength and with His strength we can do all things!