Peace, Joy and Gratitude - Saundra Hoffert
Over the last year or so, I have been so burdened that I stay thankful,encouraged, positive, and joyful! God has been so good to all of us! If we are saved, that should be enough to keep us Praising him constantly!
And he’s done so much more!
Our sinful nature always wants to default to complaining,and negative thoughts and attitudes! We are so much like the children of Israel! They had just experienced a huge miracle!! They crossed the Red Sea on DRY LAND!! ( not walking through the mud!!) and their enemies were drowned in the very place they walked through on dry ground. As Ex. 15 starts they are praising God… THEN in 24 verses, they lost their joy! Totally forgot what they had just saw God do in their lives, and starting complaining!!! Really???? How could they forget THAT FAST????? Ladies, Isn’t that exactly what we do?? We are happy, praising God for all of our blessings then… someone spills something! Someone cuts you off in traffic! Someone is going sooooo slow when WE have places to be!!!! Or a friend or family member says something or does something that doesn’t quite set well with us. Instantly! Just like that! Our joy is gone!! We start complaining! We get a bad attitude and the world knows it! ( Or at least our husband and kids do!!). Admit it! We ALL do it!
It is such a negative world we live in! Since I’ve been working on this in my life I have noticed people out in public. They aren’t happy! I ‘m working on making eye contact and speaking to people whenever I walk within speaking distance. Those of you that know me think” that’s easy for Saundra, she’s an extrovert!” Yes I am but that doesn’t come naturally to me at all! We can all be such a testimony by wearing a smile and having the joy of Lord on our faces, being kind to everyone( even our family) . Others are watching us! Unsaved, young christians, friends, and our families. How we handle stress, disappointment,and our trials will make am impression! For good or for bad!Sometimes they are small stresses,sometimes they are huge valleys God calls us to walk through. Even when we are going through the hard times , remember God is there! We can trust him. Proverbs 3:5-6. Matthew 11:28-30. Psalms 37:7. He will see us through it. Psalms 34:18-19 .We can trust him, rest in him , and rejoice in his promises.
A few years ago I became acquainted with the Stephen Ray Nichols family and their music. It is wonderful! But the thing that has made the biggest impact on my life is that he has written and they have sung those songs of praise and faith going through horrible illnesses and pain for YEARS!!! If you watch them, they sing with huge smiles on their faces and you can tell they mean every word they sing!Many of their songs are about trusting God when going through the valley.
Amy’s known for her “choose joy” mantra and we all know she DOES!!!
Let’s live our lives choosing joy, Praising God, and having a gratitude attitude.
“God is good… all the time…. All the time… God is good!”