Choosing Joy

Silver Lining

photo credit

Arise, shine,
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you,
For behold, the darkness
shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen from you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness
of your rising.

- Isaiah 60:1-3

The Lord your God in your midst
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.

- Zephaniah 3:17

I believe the greatest difference between heaven and hell is the joy factor.

Heaven is that eternal abode where joy and gladness reign. God is there, and shines as the everlasting light over that city. The Bible tells us that there is no need for the sun to shine because the light from God is enough to brighten up the place for all eternity.

With God's presence comes deep, abiding joy!

Contrast this with the misery, despair, darkness, and gloom of a Christless eternity in hell! There just is no comparison.



I can't really pinpoint the precise moment when joy became my constant companion.

My mother was a woman who loved to laugh and sing; however, she also was prone to grumble, complain and find fault.

My father, on the other hand, was a cheerful, gentle person who exuded joy all the time. I can never recall a time that my father displayed a sour disposition.

By the time I entered university as a freshman, my own personality was already well-formed. I inherited a little bit of both my mom and my dad's character traits, but most of what I had become was a result of my own daily choices.

It has been said that by 40, we alone are responsible for how our face looks.

The worry lines on the forehead, the angry pout of the lips, the spiteful squint of the eyes, the haughty and arrogant countenance... compare this with a face softened by kindness, radiating a gentle warmth and glowing with an inner joy...

It must be true, how a person's face looks after 40 is his own lookout.


I wonder how I would look now if I had not turned my life over to Christ in 1973, when I was just 20 years of age!

But even then, that was just the starting point of my inner change. Underneath a smiling facade was a heart full of anger, bitterness, an unforgiving spirit, and vindictiveness.

Add to that a subtle form of self-righteousness, intellectual pride, and the setting of such high standards of perfection for my self, my family members, and other people around me...

Honestly, I don't know how I could have made it through life, without the healing and transforming touch of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

As this blog is dedicated to the sharing and the re-telling of my life stories, there will be more opportunities in the days to come when I can pick out and share specific events that have led to the shaping and the molding of my character.

God brought me to ministries that have exposed the strongholds of deception and faulty thinking, and as the shaky foundations of my faith were replaced with God's truth and love, I began to see a change.

I've had to repent and ask forgiveness from God, my husband, and my children, for the many things I've done to hurt the relationship, and I really do not deserve this, but they have shown largeness of heart by genuinely forgiving me.

Especially God.

For many years I did not know that I have made myself my own idol; my own programs, my own standards, my own expectations, all these shared the throne that should have been reserved for God alone.

The most wonderful thing that I have experienced is the joy of being transformed, gradually, one step at a time, one day at a time, one obedient choice at a time.

I used to be such a complainer and a grumbler. A fault finder. How easily I could spot a wrong thing in anybody, and most especially in the dear members of my own family, but I was blind to my own imperfection.

As is usually the case, my first born son is the one who bore the brunt of my early imperfect years. I know Jesus is the Redeemer and the Healer. To Him alone can I entrust the undoing of the many things I have done wrong in my life.

God slowly led me to the path of healing, by giving me a deep desire to spend much time in reading His word, and pouring my heart out to Him.

God sent these my way: anointed authors, solid Biblical teaching, a God-centered church, and constant togetherness with Christian friends who helped to smooth out my rough edges and sharpen me as iron sharpens iron...

But God knew the best tool to shape and restore a person into Christ's image is adversity. My life certainly was not lacking in this character building tool. He was the Divine Husbandman who held the pruning shears, the Heavenly Goldsmith Who knew when to turn up the heat, the Master Craftsman Who alone had the skill to chisel off the rough corners of my life.

So, if anyone asks me when did joy become such an important part of my growth? I can't give an exact answer.

All I know is that slowly I realized I was no longer the grumbler and fault-finder that I used to be. Rather, God gave me a new perspective from which to view life.

I would wake up middle of the night "surprised by joy" (to borrow the title of a book by CS Lewis), and hearing a heavenly melody floating in the air.

From then on, I have made it a point to choose joy, as much as possible, as often as I can.

Let me never be mistaken for a Pollyanna, or someone going through life in denial, with a silly grin pasted over my face, and a shallow laughter coming from my mouth ... No, I don't think that can be said of me.

What I am saying is that it IS possible to begin living in the joyful atmosphere of heaven even right here on earth... by choosing joy in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in.

One of the greatest discoveries I made in my Christian life was when I realized that sorrow and joy could actually co-exist! An event in my life could give me sorrow, sadness, and pain... but to my surprise, it was possible for the joy inside my heart to be unaffected by it all.

Jesus has remained true to His promise. He said,

... in this world you will have tribulation,

but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

- John 16:33

This is the only way out of a joyless existence, the only answer to a war-torn world and godless government leaders... choosing to let the joy and peace of Jesus reign in our hearts.


One of my favorite songs is Light of a Million Mornings. This song expresses for me what heaven's joy must really be like. I've posted the song below. Lyrics are also found at the end of today's post.

Have a joy-filled day, my dear friends!

Light Of A Million Mornings

I couldn't see the sunshine through the shadows.
I couldn't seem to find a soul to care.
But in my darkest hour
You touched me with Your power.
And when I looked Your Light was everywhere.

CHORUS:

The Light of a Million Mornings filled my heart.
The sound of a million angels sang my song.
The warmth of a love so tender
touched my life and suddenly
the light of a million mornings dawned in me.

I couldn't try to understand the sunrise.
I only know it takes away the dark.
I can't explain Your healing,
or all the joy I'm feeling.
I only know You've come into my heart.

(REPEAT CHORUS)

And now that Your Glory has come shining through.
Let my life be a candle Lord that shines for You.
Shines for You... shines for You.

The light of a million mornings filled my heart.
The sound of a million angels sang my song.
The warmth of a love so tender
touched my heart and suddenly.
All of the light of a million mornings.
All of the light of a million mornings.
The light of a million mornings has dawned in me...