Find the Joy in Your Struggle

In this Trials UPLIFT, Dawn Wilson reminds us to seek the wonder of joy in the midst of life's struggles.After a lab report with discouraging news, I struggled.

The "numbers" were slow to get me back into remission. The Multiple Myeloma cells weren't being ramped down quickly enough.

I fought back tears and stuffed my emotions as I had sat down for yet another chemo infusion.

Later, I wrote a friend that during those hours the enemy popped ugly lies into my thoughts:

• "You're going to die!"
• "What's the use?"

But then suddenly, the Spirit of God popped beautiful truth into my thoughts:

• "Your life is in God's hands, and He is sovereign, loving and good."
• "Trust Him and keep moving forward in faith and joy."

I read these words by J. R. Miller:

"There is something very strange in the tendency which seems so common in human lives, to hide the joy and tell the misery."

I thought about that and agreed.

There's nothing wrong with telling people what's going on in our lives. That's realism, and it is healthy for authenticity and accountability.

But to dwell on the misery (the trial or tough circumstance) and "hide the joy"—yes, that's a problem.

Maybe it's not so much "hiding" the joy as it is not being diligent to express it when we discover it's there, present with us.

In the midst of our suffering, God still spreads the wonder of joy in our lives because of who He is and what He is doing in and through us.

I remember that Elisabeth Elliot said, "Suffering is the gateway to joy." I agree.

In our deepest trials, God teaches us deeper lessons. That's always a good thing—always a reason for joy.

Trusting the Lord during these times, we come to know Him in new ways. We relax into His sovereignty and grow in our graitude for His faithful love.

We may need to be diligent in discovering the wonder of joy before we can be diligent in expressing it.

Joy can be a subtle thing.

Sometimes joy isn't an overflow of emotions. It's more often a subtle, quiet presence—the joy of the Lord deep down in our heart.

Jesus, preaching to the crowds on a mountain, said something they might have thought odd.

How happy are those who know what sorrow means for they will be given courage and comfort! ... Happy are those who have suffered ... Be glad then, yes, be tremendously glad—for your reward in Heaven is magnificent (Matthew 5:3-12, J.B. Phillips NT).

Sorrowful, but glad?

The context of Jesus' message was a wide range of sorrows—eveything from being poor, hungry, and thirsty to being persecuted for the cause of the Kingdom. But the principle remains: When you suffer, be glad.

Be glad!

I've found I'm truly glad in my struggles when I remember there are two kingdoms: the kingdom of this fallen world, and the kingdom of God.

• In this world, this earthly kingdom, suffering might seem broken, twisted, evil, random, and without purpose.
• But suffering, when viewed from the perspective of God's kingdom, is full of purpose.
  

In The Message Bible, Matthew 5:4 reads:

You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

The One who puts my tears in His bottle cares what's going on in my struggles. And though suffering may linger, He never leaves me, and it is in His presence I find great joy (Psalm 16:11). He becomes more and more dear to me.

Circumstances may not change, but the Lord is always faithful. I always want to be intentional about expressing my joy in Him.

Are you struggling with something today? Ask the Lord to give you His joy in the midst of it all.

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth at Revive Our Hearts, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Discovering the Courage in DisCOURAGEment

Kathy C. Willis has been a huge encouragement in my life over the past few years, and she even reached out to help my mom and sister in a time of great difficulty. And she does all this from a deep well of courage in facing her own trials. I couldn't wait to get this Attitudes UPGRADE.

Kathy asks, “Do you find yourself in a season of discouragement? Let’s see what we can do to turn this around so you can enter springtime with renewed hope.”

Yes, I (Dawn) need encouragement right now, and maybe you do too. I love her imagery of entering spring with "renewed hope," because sometimes our hope needs a super-boost just to get through another day.

Kathy continues . . .

My personality doesn’t easily get discouraged, but after back-to-back-to-back setbacks, I found myself weary and stuck.

My self-talk leant itself to defeat.

“Why bother? Something outside my control will interfere with my good intentions and cut me short of the goals I believe God has put in my path.”

No, I knew that wasn’t true. If God wanted it done, He’d make sure nothing got in the way. But this messy middle between start and finish was interfering with my usual optimistic energy and drive.

It was time for me to apply the same advice I give others who struggle with discouragement.

1. How Do You Feel?

The first step is to hone in on the actual emotion.

Am I:

• Disappointed?
• Depressed?
• Dismayed?
• Blue?
• Hopeless?

2. Create Your "Hit List."

Whatever the emotion, it’s good to evaluate the source of the feeling.

I ask myself questions to isolate the instigator. I call this my HIT LIST, because it’s ways I tend to get hit. Your hit list might be different.

I ask myself:

• Am I letting what someone else said or did cause me to lose track of my joy and peace?
• Am I falling into comparison traps?
• Do I have unrealistic expectations of myself?
• Does God feel far away?
• Do I have any health issues or fatigue that is impacting how I feel?
• Am I in a toxic relationship that drains me or influences me in a negative way?

Once you’ve identified your hit list, it’s time to determine the best steps to move away from discouragement and back into the land of encouragement.

3. Move from Discouragement to Encouragement.

1. Determine what helped you prior times. What caused the discouragement to diminish or go away?
2. Practice biblical self-talk. Speak to yourself in a way that aligns with Bible principles and with how God views you. Not how you view yourself or how you think others might view you.
3. Lean in to God. Focus on His character and attributes. It doesn’t matter so much if you measure up to the “ought to’s.” Instead, it’s all about trusting the holy God, knowing He’s got this!
4. Hunker into God’s love. Even when you’re discouraged, God wants to be with you. Your Papa God wants to encourage you! “But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.” (2 Corinthians 7:6 NLT)
5. Anchor your focus on a Bible verse. Meditate on the meaning of that verse as you go about your day. Let it be a part of you, just like a song sticks with you all day long.
6. Find a worship song with lyrics that encourage your heart.
7. Get more sleep, but not too much sleep. (I bought a Fitbit designed to help me evaluate my sleep, so I could see not only how little sleep I get, but that I don’t get enough deep sleep.)
8. Find a project to be a part of that benefits someone else. It’s difficult for a servant mindset and discouragement to coexist for very long.

“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!” (Psalm 42:11 NLT)

Give yourself time.

It takes a while for feelings to catch up to reality, and sometimes our feelings even lie to us.

It’s more important to cling to the truths of God’s Word. These will never let us down.

What will you do to seek encouragement or seek to encourage someone else this week?

God’s Grin Gal, Kathy Carlton Willis, shines the light on what holds you back so you can grow. She’s a speaker and author with over a thousand articles online and in print, as well as her Bible study, Grin with Grace; and she is featured on CBN. She and her husband Russ live in Texas with their new puppy, an adorable Boston Terrier named Hettie.