Find hope and joy in hard times

“Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”

— Isaiah 54:24 (NIV)

How many times have we said when kids grow up, when I get out of debt, when I get the perfect job or this situation leaves, then life will be better?

Over the decades, I have often found myself thinking this way.

As difficult as life may seem, when we have hardships, we have to learn not to allow the obstacles to take away from the simple pleasures of life.

Jesus told us in Matthew 16:33, “In the world you have tribulation … be of good cheer …” Jesus knew life was hard. So, he extended joy, a characteristic of the Spirit, to help us stabilize our negative emotions in the challenging situations of life.

Striving to live in the moment through troubling times in this world, we need a means to cope. Balancing our challenges with joyful activities brings stability to our souls in times of difficulty.

Simple pleasures are found in simple ways. Finding some way to help one another can get our minds off ourselves and help us discover the joyful satisfaction of helping someone else.

Joy can also be found through prayer, and hope in believing something better will take place no matter how long we’ve waited.

Looking for the bright spot in each day is a way of utilizing joyful gratitude. I often ponder the good things that God has done in the past to change my perspective for a better today.

The early Christians suffered many hardships and always had obstacles in their way. They were unjustly imprisoned and, oftentimes, beaten. They were encouraged to live with joy, regardless of the obstacles and hardships.

We need to learn to trust God to handle the obstacles that come our way as we maintain the joy of living.

• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author of the book “Letters To A Friend,” speaker, life and writing coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com.