Does it seem
like your trials never end; they just change? Do the legitimate reasons for
bitterness and resentment keep building? Welcome to the club! This organization
is open to the public. It’s the most popular spot in town. Everyone’s clamoring
to get in.
Why? Every person can give a long list of
people and circumstances to blame for their current condition. I would suggest
that few of us are exactly where we
expected to be at this point in life.
The trick,
then, is to find a way to be content in any condition. We have to find a way to be stable in the
middle of positive or negative circumstances. I recently wrote an article
about being peaceful in the middle of storms. I would like to continue that
theme today.
Lenore Wirtz
She is an
overcomer mentioned in an episode of Joyce Meyer’s Enjoying Everyday Life. This remarkable woman keeps a great
attitude despite ridiculous odds. She was working by herself in a small
clothing store when a man entered and stabbed her over 30 times. She was temporarily blinded by the loss of blood.
When she called on the name of Jesus, she was able to see only long enough to
drag herself to the front door and open it.
She has undergone
five unbelievably painful surgeries so far. From the beginning, her family was
warned that life would never be the same. She would probably never be able to
leave her house again. This is a
paraphrase of her response: “I am not going to let this
define me.”
She hasn’t let the results of evil distinguish
her, either. She is able to get out
of her house. Also, Lenore appears to be more well-adjusted than individuals
who have been through a fraction of her trials. Emotional darkness has no place
in her life.
Quotes About Joy
Throughout
time, many prominent people have touched on the topic of how we must look
inside ourselves for peace. We cannot
allow our personalities to fluctuate with every situation. I have taken some quotes about joy from the
excellent article on joy4u.org called “Joy Quotes”:
“Joy is not the absence
of suffering. It is the presence of God.”—Robert Schuller
************
“Joy is you at the
deepest level, and your joy is one with the infinite timeless joy of this
unbound universe.”—Robert Ellwood
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“Joy is untouched by circumstance.”—Unknown
************
“Joy is an inside job.”—Don
Blanding
************
“Joy springs from within; no one
makes you joyous; you choose joyfulness.”—Unknown
************
“What I know for sure is that you
feel real JOY in direct proportion to how connected you are to living your
truth.”—Oprah Winfrey
************
“In thy presence is fullness of
joy.”—Psalms 16:11
************
“Joy is not in things; it is in
us.”—Richard Wagner
************
(This quote is not found in the
article.) “Our joy is not around us; it’s in us.”—Joyce Meyer
My Conclusion
Often, it
may seem like there is little contentment to be found anywhere. The world is
full of injustice, inequality, and malevolence.
You don’t have to look hard to find it. Our lives are usually not a
level field of continual delight, either. We can be limited by sickness and
other restrictions.
That means that the only way to find true joy is to look
within, to our inner strength. We must rise above our circumstances because they
will change—for better or for worse.
Please see more about contentment in
all situations in my book, Accept No Trash Talk: Overcoming the Odds.
How have you
found joy despite difficult circumstances?
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