Serve the Lord With Gladness

Be Glad in the Lord

February 18, 2017

A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22

Do you have an "Eeyore" in your life? 

     "Could be worse. Not sure how, but it could be." 

     "I'd look on the bright side . . . if I could find it!"

     "It's snowing still . . . and freezing. However, we haven't had an earthquake lately."

     "Don't worry about me. Go and enjoy yourself. I'll stay here and be miserable."

     (from "Winnie the Pooh" by A.A. Milne)

He's so gloomy, he makes us laugh. And laughter is good medicine. 

I love to laugh -- loud and long and clear.

I love to laugh -- it's getting worse every year! 

.(from Mary Poppins)

My mother lived with us for about 3 and a half years. At one point into her first year I heard her comment to someone, "I've laughed more in these past few months at Bill's and Patience's house than I have in a long time!" What a complement! Laughter permeates our home. 

Why is that? Partly its because we are just plain silly. We never take ourselves too seriously, I don't think. But I also think that one of the reasons we laugh so much is that God has taken away the anxiety and gloom of our lives and has replaced it with His joy.

Yes, a cheerful heart IS good medicine. It cures what ails you.

Lord, take away the gloom in our lives so that Eeyore we are not. Help us to find the joy in each day.