Rejoice always!

Then Hannah prayed and said:
"My heart rejoices in the LORD;
in the LORD my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance."
(1Samuel 2:1)

It's hard to be joyful at times of pain. It's hard to be joyful even when there is nothing exciting going on in life. People normally express joy only when something good happens to them; but I think joy is much more than a mere outward expression of happiness. It's not just an emotion we show through our smiles. It's so much more than that! It's about fully knowing God's never ending love for us. It's knowing that our salvation is secure in Him.

Going back to Joe's sermon a couple weeks back when he talked about "singleness", I thought about how many people go through bouts of depression and loneliness because they don't have that "special someone" to share their every day with. Being a recent "single-ling" myself, I at first thought that way too. Always wondering who my next victim was going to be (ha ha, just kidding!).. I never stopped to think about my well-being spiritually and emotionally because I was too busy worrying about ME and not using God's help. Like Joe said in his message, people are so afraid to just be still and alone, which is ironic because in the stillness God is there. "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10). When we are still, that is when God works within us because that's when we give our undivided heart and attention to Him and Him only.

So I realized that in all circumstance, whether everything in life is all gravy, all in the dumps, or you are just at a stand-still- rejoice always! Even in your singledom! Especially in your singledom! Make room in your life for the One who gave you life.