Dr. Robert Schuller said it well: \u201cTough times don\u2019t last, but tough people do.\u201d And mercy, don\u2019t I remember those tough times \u2014 days when the bills piled up, and the calendar still insisted the month wasn\u2019t over. Yet somehow, we made it. Not because we were strong, but because we leaned on the One who is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We learned early that toughness wasn\u2019t gritting our teeth \u2014 it was choosing to trust. Choosing to rejoice. Choosing to believe that our Heavenly Father would give us wisdom, faith, and a way through. Habakkuk understood that kind of grit when He said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThough the fig tree does not blossom\u2026 though the fields produce no food\u2026 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will shout in exultation in the God of my salvation.\u201d (Habakkuk 3:17-18)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That little phrase \u201cI choose to\u201d is powerful. Because let\u2019s be honest \u2014 choosing joy isn\u2019t always natural. Choosing trust isn\u2019t either. Worry comes easy. Doubt practically volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then comes that familiar Bible story \u2014 Jesus feeding thousands with one small lunchbox. The disciples saw the crowd. Jesus saw the Provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The disciples counted the loaves. Jesus lifted them and gave thanks \u2014 not after the miracle, but before it . (John 6:11). He thanked God for the \u201cnot-enough,\u201d trusting the Father to turn it into \u201cmore-than-enough.\u201d Which He did\u2026 with leftovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe that\u2019s our invitation too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thanksgiving isn\u2019t reactive; it\u2019s proactive. It\u2019s choosing joy not because we have plenty, but because we have Him. It\u2019s remembering that while we may not see how, we know WHO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you have a \u201cnot-enough\u201d situation right now?
Rent due but the car acting up.
A job that feels like a brick wall.
A child struggling and you can\u2019t fix it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s what I\u2019m learning: these moments are not dead ends \u2014 they are doorways. They usher in the peace of Philippians 4:7, the strength of Nehemiah 8:10, and the promise of Ephesians 3:20 \u2014 that God will do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So today, I choose to rejoice. I choose to trust. I choose to thank Him before the miracle \u2014 knowing the Provider is already on the move. How about you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
#choosejoyeveryday #ChooseTrust #FaithOverFear<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dr. Robert Schuller said it well: \u201cTough times don\u2019t last, but tough people do.\u201d And mercy, don\u2019t I remember those tough times \u2014 days when the bills piled up, and the calendar still insisted the month wasn\u2019t over. Yet somehow, we made it. Not because we were strong, but because we leaned on the One…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8363,1210,3775,14702,32846,32845,1769,32844,267,32393,32848,40,572,2948,32850,775,27639,6591,17022,32847,1493],"class_list":["post-23233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bible-story","tag-blog","tag-choose","tag-choose-joy","tag-choose-to-believe","tag-choose-to-rejoice","tag-christian","tag-dr-robert-schuller","tag-faith","tag-habakkuk","tag-i-choose-to","tag-inspiration","tag-invitation","tag-more-than-enough","tag-proactive","tag-thanksgiving","tag-tough-people","tag-tough-times","tag-toughness","tag-way-through","tag-wisdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23236,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23233\/revisions\/23236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}