Good morning…
Is it possible to be cheerful each day, filled with cheer, with joy, with gladness regardless of the circumstances into which we wake? This Father’s Day morn, Scripture quietly whispers to us in surround sound.
A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit (Proverbs 15:13, NIV).
Every day is a terrible day for a miserable person, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast (Proverbs 15:15, GW).
A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22, AMPC).
Cheerfulness we cannot muster on our own, it is a gift given to us by God, an inner gift transforming our face, our mind, our spirit. It seems that cheerfulness is the outer expression of a healing heart, a beating heart at home with God as God is at home in us.
Sometimes painful circumstances threaten to drain away our life. Crushing heartache. Terrible day. Miserable person. Broken spirit. Dried up bones. Yet in our thirsty state, we crave the relief only God can give. With our loving Lord, we honestly share our burdens and our innermost being is gradually saturated, buoyed, mysteriously filled. God’s powerful Spirit gently lifts our drooping spirit. Happy heart. Cheerful face. Continual feast. Good medicine. Healing works.
Jesus coaxes us closer. “I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, WEB).
Only in oneness with the resurrected Christ can we also overcome the pain of this world. Over time we are filled with a deep sense of peace. Day after day, our face is quietly cheered and our heart is happily healed by a continual feast with our living Lord.
…Sue…
