YOU WILL SMILE AGAIN!

When things are going well for us, we are all laughter and songs. But alas, life isn't always like that. Sometimes, we pass through gloomy seasons when our faces seem boarded up and forbidding. It may be a time of bereavement or other kind of loss, it could be sickness, aggravating relationships or financial trouble.

Whatever it is, I want you to know that the Lord Jesus is there with you and will pull you through one way or another. Those difficult times afford us great opportunities to draw closer to God, through Jesus, and grow our faith. He knows what it is like to suffer pain or have darkness descend on you. Remember His experience in the Garden of Gethsemane till He was crucified on Calvary (Matthew 26:36-56; 27:1 & 2, 11-50). He sure wasn't smiling then.

But one thing about trials and difficulties is that they are only for a season. So Jesus went from Gethsemane to trial before the Sanhedrin and Pilate to the cross at Calvary. He went through indescribable agony but then He was laid in the tomb and before His disciples knew it, He had risen on resurrection morning!  (Matthew 27:57-60; 28:1-10) The tears, the travailing were all gone. He had risen with an immortal body and before long, He ascended in glory to take His proper place at the right hand of God the Father (Mark 16:19).

In your own case too, as the Bible assures, "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalms 30:5). It may not be clear how long the night will be or how relief will come but it surely will. So, hold on to God and know that however bitter this moment is, sweetness will overtake it. However dark the night is, the day is coming. However bad your situation is now, joy is on the way and you will smile again.

But you can do something proactive. Even before the situation changes, you can in faith begin to see it as what you have prayed it to be in accordance with the word of God. You can envision yourself as the victor because you are in Christ Jesus who is Master over all things. 

"9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." -  Philippians 2:9-11

Whether through life or death, your situation is win-win in Christ Jesus. This is the heritage of everyone who has accepted Christ Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and Apostle Paul expressed it so well when he declared:

"20. ... Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 21. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:20-21

Bearing that in mind, you can begin to lighten up your face. Crack a smile now and then. It will get easier with practice and you might even hear laughter bubbling up from within you in time.

Yes, my brother, my sister, you will smile again. And you don't have to wait till your prayers are answered. Begin now if you can but whatever the case, the clouds will lift and your joy will return. YES, YOU WILL SMILE AGAIN!

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The scriptures used in this post are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
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If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, do pray this short prayer:

PRAYER FOR SALVATION
Almighty God, I repent of my sins and ask you to forgive me. I receive the work Jesus did for me by shedding His blood for my sins. Write my name in the Lamb's Book of Life and send your Spirit to live in my heart and teach me your word. I receive the grace to live a life that honours you henceforth in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, you are born again. Join a Bible-believing group of believers to help you learn, through studying the word of God and prayer, how to live and practise your faith. You are blessed in Jesus' name.

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GOD CAN STABILISE YOUR LIFE

Instability, constantly changing scenarios, a kaleidoscope of experiences - this is what life is like for many people. There is nothing they can be sure of. Good things are here one moment, gone the next. A seemingly perfect marriage ends in bitter separation and court battles, a business that was about picking up sinks due to unforeseen factors, one health challenge is replaced by another with tiny reprieves in between.

This is the life that sin in the Garden of Eden plunged humanity into. It wasn't meant to be so at first. But we can have some assurance in life when we come to the One who created all things and they were certified good.

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good ..." - Genesis 1:31.

We call Him the Rock of Ages because nothing can move Him and the Bible says the same of the world we live in.

"Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved." - 1 Chronicles 16:30 (NIV)

He can bring the same stability to our lives and give us an immutable testimony. We have clear promises in His word on this:

"They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever." - Psalm 125:1

Contemporary English translations say they shall not be "moved" or "shaken". 

"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms ..." - Deuteronomy 33:27

The arms referred to above are God's. Visualise Him holding you and tell me what can toss you about. 

"1. Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. 

7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord." - Psalm 112:1, 6-7 

Faith in God is a source of confidence in life. Like Job, we have a hedge about our lives and are not open to every vicissitude.

"Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land." - Job 1:10 

I want to add this scripture from the most popular psalm in the Bible:

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." - Psalm 23:6 (KJV) [emphasis mine]

Some people say Old Testament scriptures don't apply to us today. I say they do because God has not changed and His word abides forever. Our circumstances are not different from those of the Israelites. When we accept God through Jesus, we become Abraham's children entitled to the same promises and blessings.

"89. For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. 90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. 91. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants." - Psalm 119:89-91

"26. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." - Galatians 3:26-29  

We need not live our lives like yo-yos. We can enjoy stability: stability in our faith, in our health, in material blessings, in fruitfulness and success. As Isaiah 37:31 says, God's people whom He has delivered (in this context you and I that are saved) shall "take root downward, and bear fruit upward", not for a season but all through the rest of our days. 

Let us appropriate this in prayer by refusing the contrary and agreeing with God's word in every circumstance. God shall uphold His word in our lives to the glory of His name. But this does not mean that trials shall not come. If indeed they are trials sent by God, He will grant us the grace to endure. Otherwise, everything in our lives that opposes the will and good purpose of God should be made to bow to the name of Jesus. 

We need a stable life, especially in our faith. We can't keep moving from sin to sin with little or no fruit of the Spirit in our lives when we have been saved. We should agree with God on this and He will make it happen, not only with respect to our spiritual walk but in every other area of our lives as well. 

Amen in Jesus' name.

If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, pray this short prayer:

PRAYER FOR SALVATION

Almighty God, I repent of my sins and ask you to forgive me. I receive the work Jesus did for me by shedding His blood for my sins. Write my name in the Lamb's Book of Life and send your Spirit to live in my heart and teach me your word. I receive the grace to live a life that honours you henceforth in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, you are born again. Join a Bible-bleleving group of believers to help you learn, through studying the word of God and prayer, how to live and practise your faith. You are blessed in Jesus' name. 

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