“Joy is not based on our circumstances but is based on our ability to be thankful.”

With tomorrow being Thanksgiving day, I thought it would be appropriate to write about how important it is to be thankful and to give thanks to our Sovereign Savior every day and not just one day out of the whole entire year.

While doing a devotion the other day called ‘Finding Joy in the Ordinary’ by Brittany Rust, my eyes were seriously opened by the Holy Spirit.
Lately, I’ve been feeling like my joy was taken right from my grasp and I’ve been finding myself wanting more than what God has already blessed me with. This was due to me always comparing myself to other momma’s, wanting to be where certain people are in life, and not being thankful.
I found myself thinking silly things like “If I didn’t exclusively breastfeed my children I probably would have more by now.”, “She seems like she is super close with Christ, why am I failing so badly in that part of my life?”, “Her children never act up, where in my parenting am I failing so badly? “. Do you see how ridiculously insane it is for me to be thinking like this? I absolutely LOVE that I was able to exclusively breastfeed both of my daughters for 18 months and I would never change a thing. My relationship with my Lord is a work in progress, just like it is for everyone else, even the pastors in our churches. EVERYONE’s children act out, and just like me, some are just not vocal about it.
Not only does comparing myself to others rob me of my joy, but it is questioning where the Lord has me in life and His calling for me. That’s pretty deep…

You may be asking what me sharing this with you has to do about being thankful… Well, it has everything to do about being thankful, and being thankful brings so much joy to life.
So this whole entire month of November I have been putting into practice giving thanks for where I am in life and what I am already so incredibly blessed with, and like David in the book of Psalm, I too want to offer up shouts of joy in my tough spots of life. I will not only be putting this into practice this month, but for the rest of my life. Doing this has not only brought my joy back, but it has also drawn me so much closer to the Lord because my eyes are solely on him, and without Him I wouldn’t be where I am in life today and I wouldn’t have what I have today.

I read somewhere that the devil knows that he cannot take away our salvation or the forgiveness we have in Christ Jesus so he tries to take away our joy, and I definitely believe that wholeheartedly. I didn’t use to get my joy taken away from me so easily until I started to really draw closer to God, but with thanksgiving, joy can easily be taken back because your focus is solely on the Lord and how He has blessed you.
Jesus Christ died to give us joy, so I am going to keep my eyes on Christ and find my joy in thanksgiving.

I really hope that all of my rambling made sense and that it has touched your spirit today. In the midst of all of the trials in life, what are you thankful for?

I am thankful that I was able to exclusively breastfeed both my daughters for a year and a half.
I am thankful that the Lord has blessed me with 3 beautiful girls and for the future children we will be blessed with, including the precious ones we will be adopting and calling our very own.
I am thankful that I can continue to grow in Christ and strengthen our relationship.
I am thankful that my children continuously grow in obedience and that the Lord has given me grace and patience to raise these arrows.
I am forever thankful for where the Lord has me in life and that He is guiding me on this life journey.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.