Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
Think about a time when you haven’t really felt like being happy (who knows, maybe that time is right now). Whether something terrible happened, or all the little things of life piled on your shoulders. Either way, it’s not a great feeling, is it? You feel sad, isolated from others (possibly by your own doing), and irritated. I know for me, when I recently experienced it, I felt angry, uninspired, dry, and empty. I had nothing left to give anyone and I had nothing left for myself. Or so I thought.
Until one morning my daily verse led me to consider a discussion from the previous night at a women’s group I attend. It focused around the fact that so many of us, even Christians, act unhappy in our daily lives. Why is that and how can we change it?
The very last night of Jesus’ human life on earth must have been His worst. You think you’ve got it bad. Take a minute and think about how He must’ve felt. He knew that meal in the upper room was the last one together with his friends this side of heaven. He also knew one of His friends would turn Him over to the “authorities”, and all of His friends would reject Him. Not to mention the slight issue of dying an excruciating death by crucifixion in a few short hours. Doesn’t make our problems sound so bad, does it?
Does It Matter What We Think? On this particular morning, God showed me two things I can do to pull out of this funk, my desert, and feel the joy and peace Jesus died to give me. The first thing was what Jesus did after that last supper. He served others. He put other people before himself by washing His disciples dirty, sandy feet. “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:14-15) When we start to turn our thoughts and our focus off ourselves and onto those around us, we’ll be amazed at how quickly we start to feel better.
The second thing Jesus did was sing. Matthew 26:30 says, “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Who in the world feels like singing when they feel like that? Not me! I can pretty much guarantee Jesus probably didn’t feel like it either. But that didn’t stop Him. Why? I wonder if it’s because He knew the value of a song. Singing in the midst of our misery does wonders for one’s soul. Even if we don’t feel like it. The next time you feel “down in the dumps” or you think life has handed you a bad batch of rotten apples, try doing something nice for someone else. Then sing your heart out-and if you’re like me, and haven’t been blessed with a beautiful singing voice, sing when no one’s listening—God is!
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