It seems that the Lord always has a new lesson to teach me. Lately, my lesson was been on the subject of rejoicing. My husband is naturally pretty positive. On a strengths test we took during our AFM application process, positivity was one of his number-one strengths. It isn’t naturally my strength, and I’m thankful for a husband who can encourage me in that way. It’s funny how easy it is to rationalize pessimism as “realistic thinking.” In reality, negative thinking is distrust in God. When we can thank God for the situation we are in, however negative it is, we are exercising faith in our Father’s tender care for us.
The enemy brings adversity into our lives in order to steal our joy. When we exercise the powerful weapon of rejoicing, the enemy’s purpose is defeated. I know that the mission field will give me many opportunities to feel sorry for myself, and I’m so thankful that my patient Father is teaching me even now the lessons of faith I will need in Cambodia.
I’ll never forget the unnatural reaction of Betsie Ten Boom while in a concentration camp during World War II. During her evening prayers with her sister, Corrie, Betsie was heard thanking the Lord for the fleas! Corrie thought Betsie was taking things too far, but later they found out that the reason the guards never bothered them in their barracks was because of the fleas!
We all need to praise the Lord for the “fleas” in our lives! Who knows what unknown blessings they are bringing? In the light of the cross, what do we really have to complain about anyway? Heaven is cheap enough!
“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice!”
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