Galatians 5:22-22 ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.’
DAILY READING – • Matthews 18:21-35; Numbers 7-8; Ecclesiastes 6
When Pastor Boris Vujicic’s son was born on 4th December 1982, with a very rare disorder, many people were shocked. The baby came into the world with no arms and no legs, having only a six-inch appendage with two toes on the left side of his torso.
Pastor Boris Vujicic and his wife, nurse Dushka Vujicic – were not given any medical explanation for their baby’s condition.
Though many in their church, wondered why God would allow the pastor’s son to be born with such a defect, Pastor Boris Vujicic and his wife chose to trust God.
They named their son, Nick Vujicic and tried their best to help him to live a ‘normal’ life. But despite their efforts, by age eight, Nick began to feel great depression about his disabilities, which resulted in multiple suicide attempts. On Nick’s third attempt to end his life he had a vision. He saw his mom and dad crying at his grave, and he realized that his suicide would be a worse blow to his parents than having a son without limbs.
After that vision, Nick decided not to kill himself. Soon after, Nick had a life-changing moment when he read John chapter 9 where Jesus said a man was born blind so the works of God would be revealed.
Understanding, that his own disability could also be used by God to reveal His glory, Nick surrendered his life to Jesus and began a relationship with God, which changed everything for him. He became joyful, trusting that God was in control of his life. Thereafter, he began to enjoy his life and became full of smiles. By age 17, he began to conduct classes where he spoke to encourage other students. One day he was speaking to 300 sophomore public high school students and half of the girls began to cry, touched by his speech. From that moment God ignited his heart with a passion to beccome a worldwide evangelist.
In 2005, he founded an international non-profit organization and ministry, ‘Life Without Limbs’. Nick began travelling all over the world, sharing his message of hope to millions of people and helping many come to faith in Jesus Christ.
Though born without limbs, today, Pastor Nick Vujicic is doing far more than many people who have arms and legs. He knows how to swim, play soccer, use the computer, and a lot more. He has written books and featured in films. He has been blessed with a good wife and four beautiful children.
God has used him mightily to instill hope in many hearts. Today, Pastor Nick Vujicic is one of the most widely recognized evangelists in the world and has become an international symbol of victory over adversity.
Pastor Nick’s change of story came when he decided to be joyful, despite his circumstances.
In the book of Philippians, Apostle Paul writes from a state of imprisonment under difficult circumstances.
But despite the adverse conditions, he commands the Christians at Philippi to ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. rejoice in the Lord always.’ [Philippians 4:4-8].
Here Paul reveals that the secret to experiencing joy is by shifting our focus to God in all circumstances.
Today, the world is currently in a desperate state, with many nations facing economic recession, security concerns, social unrest etc.
While this current state of affairs can foster an atmosphere of despondency, as Christians we cannot allow anything take away our joy.
True joy is unlike happiness. Happiness is a fluctuating positive response to favorable life situations and depends on outward circumstances.
But joy comes from the inside as imparted to our hearts by the Spirit of God.
At salvation, God implants joy in all believers through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Even in adverse situations, the Holy Spirit supernaturally works in our hearts to produce His fruit of joy (Galatians 5:22).
Unspeakable joy, is unexplainable joy. It is the joy you can’t explain in natural terms. No matter what goes on, you chose to always trust God and refuse to be moved by circumstances. This Joy is the source of strength for rising to your high places. But depression can stop you from getting there because once the devil succeeds in stealing your joy, he has succeeded in stealing your strength. Depression is the enemy’s trap for stealing your colorful destiny. Therefore, don’t allow it! Do not allow money, relationships or anything to control your joy, because they are inconsistent.
In every situation, let us keep our hope in God who never fails. Certainly, God is ever constant and reliable and is able to turnaround any condition and surpass all our expectations.
PRAYER: Lord, please help me to remain joyful and keep praising You despite any situation, let nothing ever stop the continual flow of your praise from my mouth because You are too faithful to ever fail me in Jesus Name.
QUOTE;
Praise always guarantees you power for a raise, learning to praise God in season and out of season is key to fulfilling destiny. – WORDBITE 222