Joy is a gift. To receive joy as a gift means that it is given to you, you do nothing for it other than ask for it receive it. God gives us the gift of joy.
Joy is also a choice. To choose joy means that whatever your circumstances, you choose the posture of joy. One great way to do this is through thankfulness. To choose thankfulness leads to joy.
What can steal our joy? What strips us of the gift? One great culprit is comparison. Comparing ourselves to another and cultivating the breeding grounds for bitterness and envy makes it pretty difficult to choose joy and even to receive it. Comparing our bodies, comparing our families, our homes, our spiritual lives, our cooking, our income, our gifts, … you get the picture. Comparison steals our joy and we have a choice whether to indulge comparison or not.
How can you store up joy? What are you thankful for? How will you choose joy rather than comparison today? Do not forget to ask God for it as well. It is both a choice and a gift.
**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**
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