Joy

Sheila Walsh

I face a number of situations that lack closure. I see clearly that I have two choices. I can bring these to God and then spend the rest of the day trying to figure out how I can "make things happen". Or I can bring my requests before God's throne of grace with a prayer of thanksgiving and confidence in Him and wait in the Lord. The real difference is what happens in me after my initial prayer. If I make the first choice, I continue to worry and fret over the outcome. If I take the second route, the way by which Paul exhorts us to live, I come to an awesome promise. "The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

What a gift. The Word of God could not be clearer here. If we will relinquish control of our lives and place our trust in God with absolute confidence, the peace of God, which is beyond human understanding, will cover us, protecting our hearts and minds. This is "true joy"! Joy that G.K. Chesterton called "the giant secret of the Christian."