Do not cumber yourself with fruitless pains to mend and remedy remote effects; let the soul be erect, and all things will go well.

We don't pretend all is well. But knowing God's commands to rejoice in him through his all-sufficient power, we meditate on his Word and call on him to impart his gladness to us. In time God exchanges our natural responses with his supernatural, joy-giving presence. Sometimes sorrow and joy do battle; sometimes they coexist, but when our hearts and minds are on Christ, joy is never far away:

Tozer wrote, When the followers of Jesus Christ lose their interest in heaven they will no longer be happy Christians, and when they are no longer happy Christians they cannot be a powerful force in a sad and sinful world.

There is a difference between tears of hope and tears of hopelessness." —Erwin Lutzer

When a person is going through a hard time, his mind wants to give up. Satan knows that if he can defeat us in our mind, he can defeat us in our experience. That's why it is so important that we not lose heart, grow weary and faint.

Trust in Him If you are tempted to give up on something or someone, put your trust in God and believe that even if you don't have the power to change the circumstances, He does.

Patience is not simply the ability to wait - it's how we behave while we're waiting.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. GALATIANS 6:9 NIV One of the most important truths you can be grateful for is that God has promised to never leave you—He is always by your side!

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5b Have you ever noticed that being upset or downtrodden about problems never changes them? Sometimes we don't take time to look at the fruit of our actions, but if we did, surely we would see that worry is useless. We can learn to enjoy the journey of life, even when it takes us in a different direction than we had planned.

Our circumstances shouldn't be the things that determine our level of joy. Even if we are having the worst day ever, we can have a confident, joy-filled, hopeful attitude if we learn to look at what we have left, not what we have lost. Always look at what God is doing, not what you think He isn't doing.

When you become discouraged, you become weak and lose the courage you need to go forward. What must you do in times of discouragement? Shake it off! P

We need to learn to enjoy each day and every moment. Even when circumstances are difficult, if we can rejoice and be thankful in "this," whatever "this" situation may be, we will grow in spiritual maturity and we will be happier, more peaceful people.