Joy Stealers

[bluidkiti]

Joy Stealers

For my sighing comes before my food, and my groanings are poured out like water. For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, and that of which I am afraid befalls me. I was not or am not at ease, nor had I or have I rest, nor was I or am I quiet, yet trouble came and still comes [upon me].
- Job 3:24-26

People dread many things, and most don't even realize what dread does to them. It sucks the joy right out of the present moment. The life God has provided for us through Jesus Christ is a precious gift, and we should enjoy every moment of it.

Dread is insidious and can insert itself into even the most innocuous of circumstances. For example, once I was getting a facial and enjoying it extremely. I glanced at the door and saw my clothes hanging on the hook and thought, Oh, I dread getting up and putting on my clothes and driving all the way home. Then I realized I was letting dread do its dirty work again. It was stealing the joy of the present moment.

Pray and ask God to show you every time you begin to dread any task or something lurking in your future that you're not quite sure of. Merely eliminating dread from your life will release more of your God-given confidence and help you experience more joy.

Lord, make me aware of what I dread. It's such a part of my life that it's easy to not even notice. Help me to retain my joy and walk in all the confidence You've given me. Amen.

From the book The Confident Woman Devotional: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer

[MajestyJo]

Like this, if you are not enjoying recovery, what are you doing wrong? You are given a second chance at life, why are you not enjoying it. We have freedom of choice as to what kind of day we have. We can be joyful that we are sober and enjoy each moment as it comes or we can sit on the pity pot and fill it up with all our woes and why mes.

I have to acknowledge things, but not to hang on to them, but to let them go. I have to feel the feelings, and sometimes we sabatoge ourselves and take the joy out of living.

We forget the Source, and we act out in the isms of our dis-ease. This is a family disease. It becomes I, Self, and Me and I can't see anything but all my problems. If we call them challenges instead, we can over come them. Problems we stay stuck in.

Guess I should have posted this in the other post, but joy is joy and often we don't recognize or think of it because we are focused on the negative instead of the positive.

Dread, looking into the future when it hasn't even got here yet, thinking of the worse case scenarios. Someone said, "If I do that, then I won't be disappointed." Disappointments are a way of life a feeling like all others, which we can take to God and ask for Help to deal with it. If you live in the moment and in the day, turn each day over to your Higher Power's Care, who I choose to call my God, good chance that dread and fear won't materialize. I need to stay in the moment and in the day, asking for what God's Will is for me each day.