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For the next 21 days, you will be introduced to a lifestyle and challenge to embrace life with resilience and gusto. I know that you can do it because I did it. The question is this … will you do it?!
Often our frustration stems from the fact that we look for joy in all the wrong places. If you believe that an impressive college education or 5 well-behaved children are your password into the Kingdom of Joy … you have it all wrong. If you think that losing 27.5 pounds or marrying the person of your dreams will give you a money-back guarantee to perfect and perpetual joy … then once again … you have it all wrong.
Joy is found in only one place … “In His presence is fullness of joy!”
If you desire a joy so pervasive that it trumps every other circumstance in life then you must spend time with Jesus. If you are desperate for a joy that will defy all of life’s depressing situations then you must choose to marinate in His presence.
You can choose whether or not to spend time reading your Bible every day … you can turn on a worship CD and sing along! Choose to lift your hands in the air as an act of surrender while you worship. Spend time alone in prayer every day. Close your bedroom door and kneel beside your bed. Have a heart to heart conversation with the One who knows you best and loves you most.
Practical Application: “Just be thankful! Thankfulness and joy are not so very far apart!”
Buy a “Thanksgiving All Year!” journal on which you record three things every day for which you are thankful. Make your list public through Twitter or on Facebook accompanied by “#beat depression!”
Declaration: I declare that when I spend time in God’s presence I receive the gift of Joy!
Prayer: “Jesus, let the joy of Your presence fill the dark places in me. I pray discouragement would disappear as I spend time with You. Thank You for the gift of joy. Amen.”
Scripture:
Psalm 16: 1 Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.Michtam: or, A golden Psalm
2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
Source: http://www.justjoyministries.com/21-days-to-beat-depression/
Inspirational Lifestyles: 21 Days To Beat Depression…Today Be Thankful was originally published on praisedc.com
