Make Joy Come Out Of Every Circumstance

copyright (c) 2018 Tabitha Carin   Snowden 

2018

Make Joy Come Out Of Every Circumstance

Making joy come out of us, throughout the hardest times can be difficult, we may be thinking how could we ever find joy! Under all the stress how could we laugh? I know, because I have been there and still  there almost daily. 

When we are stressed, how could we think of laughing? Maybe crying is more relatable at that moment than laughing, I don't know! On our way here to Mozambique, in the airports we often were well-stressed. But in our stress we found humor (JOY) and that made our environment around us easier, and almost fun! We can make essentially any situation joyful, with God's help. 
  

                             

There's just something about seeing someone so full of Joy, that we soon realize that they are overflowing with God's love and that is incredible.
We have to come to a place of putting our difficulties in God's hands only. Trying to deal with our struggles alone steals our joy.   

Romans 15:13 - "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." 

If we are ready to give all it up to God, then why worry, or struggle? If we hold on to those things that are holding us back, it becomes harder and harder to even simply smile. 
As we look deep within ourselves, reflecting who we want to be; are we letting our worries steal our joy?


I know that I do struggle with it as well, I think we all do! We have those days that it seems like maybe we aren't feeling like being joyful, but we have to help ourselves (and each other) to see the blessings of each day.

Learning Portuguese here in Mozambique is not easy (might have to be another blog in its self)! Watching people have conversations or talking as we sit there, clueless! But, we have to realize that there is joy in that, we can simply laugh about not understanding (which we do often) or we can feel excited and build that momentum to learn, remembering smiling is a good way to start. There's joy even in a large-hurdle such as language barrier. 


When I think of being joyful, I also think of being content. We should never be satisfied with our relationship with God, but content with our willingness of letting God take over.

Psalms 5:11 - "But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee."

Being joyful doesn't only help us, it helps the people around us see and feel God's light, love, and peace. In this, we need to think how are we making ourselves feel; are we feeling the joy from the Lord? We can sincerely feel happier if we are in His word and His presence more. And people start to feel and see the difference including our own lives. I am still working on this as well, because sometimes its hard to be joyful when I feel all alone, stressed, or struggling: realizing I'm not alone. As we realize we are able to give everything to God, we see that it is a complete game changer for all of us.


John 16:22 - "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."


Let no man take Joy from us, let no man take the peace, we can't let our joy be in the hands of man only because in that it will crumble. But in the hands of God, His joy will be in our hearts forever. 


Zephaniah 3:17 - "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee [is] mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing."

God rejoices over us, because we are His children He has an abundance of love pouring out upon us, if we are doing His will we will feel the joy from His heart. 
Doesn't that make you excited? That if we build a strong relationship with Him, He will pour out His peace, love, and JOY upon us!!! 

Rejoice evermore, rejoice; feel the joy in our hearts and give it to others. There is so much sadness and hurt in this world, why don't we change that, by being the first one to smile, or laugh, to just show the joy of the Lord. It starts with us, we have to start asking the Lord to do something in us. By changing our hearts; we can see His smiling face looking at us, and with joy, we can show God's love with simply a smile and kind words.

Psalms 104:34 - "My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD."

In The Midst Of The Crowds

copyright (c) 2018 Tabitha Carin   Snowden 

2018

In The Midst Of The Crowds

In the midst of the crowds, what do you see? Do you see the child on the street crying? Do you see the mother struggling to keep going, because she is so tired? Or do you see the hard working man who needs encouragement? 

(First Mozambique sunset for us)

We have just only arrived in Mozambique for a little while, and you can get very, very busy in this time. Which is normal, and all the stuff we are doing is important. But, in the midst of the craziness, the busyness, and in the midst of the crowds; I am beginning to notice the things I would normally be too distracted to see. As we drive on the streets of Mozambique, I see a child crying, or a woman struggling to keep on to continue each day of her life. I am not saying there is a lot I can personally do for them, because here in Mozambique there are many of those circumstances; yet, I can pray. I can pray for those children I see begging for food, and I can pray for that beautiful family to start following Jesus as their Savior. That is what I CAN do!

In the midst of the crowds I want to see those that are; "forgotten," forgotten by others, but not to God. God calls us OUT of the crowds to see the ones that aren't noticed at all. 

In the midst of the crowds, we could be the hands and feet of Jesus and be able to see those in the trees or hidden in the multitudes. We all can do this by, showing His love, and His actions, wherever we may go.

Allow me to challenge you to be the person who changes their lives, and remember that as you walk down the streets or drive past them, to not just ignore their needs. Pray! Pray for God to open your eyes to see them, and pray for them once you do. 

    

To continually pray for the people around you, makes a difference! So, look around and look for those who are in the midst of the crowds.