You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11 NKJV)
In this season of life, I am surrounded by a myriad of challenges, some days more than others. Sometimes, people ask me how I am able to remain upbeat, and keep smiling. Well, the truth is that I wasn’t always able to approach life with a positive outlook. For years, I experienced a lot of frustration with life. At times, I even pitied myself because life was more difficult for me, than for most of my peers (at least, that’s how it appeared).
The change in my attitude and whole perception of life, came when I discovered that, “In His presence is fullness of joy.” I knew that I wanted joy in my life, and I knew that through prayer, I would be brought into the Lord’s presence, and that is precisely where I wanted and needed to be. I decided to “give it a try,” and I’m so glad I did.
I discovered that as I enter into His presence, the difficulties of everyday life, seem considerably less important. Regardless of whether my prayers are answered immediately or not, when I bring my cares and concerns to God, and stay in the stillness of His presence for a while, something miraculous happens. When I am with Him, I feel strengthened, peaceful and hopeful, because compared to His holiness and His awesomeness, everything else is diminished, including the difficulties of my life’s circumstances. I am reminded that my heavenly Father loves me unconditionally, He is able, He wants to supply all my need, and He takes pleasure in giving me good things. He knows which decisions I should make, and if I ask Him, He will show me the way. He will never change, and being confident in that gives me strength to persevere, and to know, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
My prayer today is, “Lord, while the struggles that each of us faces daily are different, your ability to help is the same for everyone. Nothing is impossible for You. You are waiting for us to come to you, so, please help us to do that every day.
