1 Thessalonians 5:16 ESV
Rejoice always,
On Friday morning, as I was walking from the parking lot to the office, one of the Olin professors heard me whistling and said, "Shane, we're going to miss you next semester. Your always so happy."
It was so encouraging to me to hear that in only a few months of being here, I was observed to be a joyful person. I wish I could take credit, but this is the work of the Lord. I had let sin creep in to my life, and I became a cynical and pessimistic person. But over the past eight years, the Lord has done an amazing work in my heart, and especially in the past year, the Lord has brought me to a conscious decision to be joyful and optimistic.
I think it comes down to perspective. How can you not be joyful when your heart is enlightened to "the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead ..."?
Heavenly Father, thank you for your redemptive and restorative work. Thank you for the joy that you give. May the words that I speak and the attitude that I portray be genuinely joyful to honor you and your love. I ask in the name of Jesus Christ.
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