Hello readers! This being the first post in a rather long-ish time, I would like to introduce a topic that has NOT been on my mind much lately. At all. That is, until I was reading through my Bible, and I stumbled upon a verse in it that thoroughly convicted me.
So, I do not know if any of you have this problem or not, but, for me at least, whenever I’m doing something hard that I’m supposed to do that I do not want to do AT ALL, I tend to feel sad. Now, if this is a RIDICULOUSLY hard thing that you are doing, I am not saying you have to always be happy about it right off the bat. But, try this verse on for size…
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Random Reader (RR): WAIT, but this is a RIDICULOUSLY hard thing!!!! Aren’t I allowed a little sad-ness??
Read the verse again. And remember, this is Jesus talking.
RR: Uhh… so what am I supposed to learn from this?
Look, you think what you are going through is hard, or tough? Maybe it is, but is it as tough as anything Jesus had to do?
For one, He lived a blame-less life, then He sacrificed His entire life for His ministry on earth. Then, after all that sacrifice, He was attacked ruthlessly by people He could have vaporized into thin air with merely a thought in His head. Keeping His patience on the Cross while beaten by sinners, and even continuing His ministry there, as He witnessed to a thief who was crucified next to Him… He TRULY overcame the world.
If you claim Jesus as savior, and Lord of your life, you have EVERY reason to be joyful, and happy. 
And that’s more or less the point of this point. 
A very good friend of mine reminds me often “things we think are big deals often seem a lot smaller in hindsight.”
RR : Why do bad things happen to Christians? Why can’t God just make everything perfect for us, since we have Him?
Answer:
1st, tough things happen to grow us. When we are stripped from all comforts, the things we thought we could not survive without, God gives us grace to continue, and uses these times to draw us closer to Him. We adjust our perspective and recognize that God is the only thing we cannot live without.
2nd, tough things happen to witness to others. God uses us in the most difficult times, to prove that we have Something… bigger than life itself, guiding us, and giving us joy. When we have what we care about most, a hobby, a talent, something we care about more than anything else, taken from us with the world watching- THAT is when the world is watching- we have an opportunity to show them that life is not about what you gain, who you know, or what you do. It’s about WHO KNOWS YOU.
None of these good things come about with poor spirits… so I guess that was where the conviction kicked in.
If we are commanded to try to be like Jesus, and are commanded BY Jesus to be of good cheer, why not?
Thank you, and I hope this post is convicting you as much as it’s convicting me. :-/
Cheer up, everyone!
Ouch.
^^ That’s Beth being convicted.
^^ That’s Beth trying to cheer up.
This is just what I needed.
Thanks, Ben! 
Oh my goodness, this is a topic which HAS been on my mind a lot lately! I was thinking of writing something on it. Maybe I still will… but it’s awesome to see someone else who’s convicted on this! The question I ask myself is, ‘Do we ever REALLY think of what was done so we could smile? And so… do we ever have the right to frown?’ When Jesus bore all our sins on the cross, he bore our tears too. Thus, even though we still sin and we still cry, mercy and happiness envelop us at every hour.
=) =) =)
This blog is a ghost town… That’s sad…