Joyful No Matter What

It seems that throughout my life the Lord has been faithful to provide me with a verse for every season, both tragedy and triumph, a verse that encourages and spurs me on and keeps my heart and mind steadfast on Him. I love Isaiah 26:3 in which we read, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because He trusts in you" or Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God", and then there is Colossians 1:16 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him", or Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." or even Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful"...and I of course could go on, those are just a few of the verse that come to mind when I think of specific verses the Lord gave me during specific seasons in my life. I am sure that you too can think of a handful of verses that God has used to keep you steadfast during the ups and downs in your life.

I recently was having a conversation with a coworker and the topic of depression came up. This individual was explaining how they had been having a period in their life where they were always sad, hurting, and angry for what they believed to be "no reason"; not being saved, this person's immediate reaction was to make a phone call to the doctor and set up an appointment to get diagnosed with depression so they could get the pills to "balance" out. As I sat there thinking about what was going on I continued our discussion and soon realized a foundational truth of all humanity...happiness for humanity is circumstantial, not so profound I know but it definitely is something that is true for all of the human race. If life is going great then the person tends to be happy and joyous and the moment that life takes a turn for the worse so do the emotions, everything is based on the circumstances and situations surrounding that individual. And then as I am sitting there having this conversation with them I realize that I am blessed (happy) because God is my rock. Okay yeah I knew that all along but in that moment it really hit me, it hit me that no matter what I do in life, no matter what situations come my way, no matter how hard or how tough life gets I have a peace and a joy that never fade, and then God gave me a verse... Habakkuk 3:17-19

"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments."

This promise is something that I am so sure of, that no matter what befalls me in life I will always be secure and confident in my standing with Christ and bottom line that is all that matters, and there is happiness in that because we are truly blessed!! I love the prophets description here that despite the circumstances that befall, and the fact that there is really every reason "logically" or from a human perspective to be upset and depressed, yet despite that He will rejoice BECAUSE His hope and joy are found in God His Savior who strengthens and enables Him to find peace and perservere. As I continued to dwell on this precious promise I was so encouraged looking back over the seasons of my life and seeing how despite it all there was a consistency in my heart because God is and was my portion and although everything else failed HE WOULDN'T!

What a treasure we have as sons and daughters of the King, what a precious promise we have inherited and what a blessing it is to have the Truth of Scripture that the Spirit impresses on our hearts perfectly giving us specific verses to enable us to continue running!