Missing Joy Grace

I've mentioned in recent posts that this year things have been especially hectic for me. Maybe, it's Satan's way of sneaking up on me, because he tries to trip Christians up at times. Anyway, I have fallen prey to these sneak attacks more often than not in the last month and I'm ashamed of it.

 The first thing this tells me, that I'm not spending the time in prayer daily with Christ. Additionally, it's not just my morning prayers that I sometimes ramble through, it's not turning to Christ for His grace when I am confronted with stressful and potentially problematic situations. Not smart!!!

 As a result of all of this, I realize that I've felt a lack of joy in my life, but there is an easy remedy. Christ is the source of all Joy and He will give it freely if I ask Him, not just once, but maybe every day or with every stressful and potentially problematic situation. I need His Missing Joy Grace, because I feel so alone without it. 

Example of a Brief Prayer

But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Acts 15:11

I was with someone who was scooping up some free popcorn. They didn't ask me if I wanted any. The person told me that I should get a bag of popcorn and then took it from my hands. They wanted me to get the popcorn for them to eat later.

It's such a silly thing, but it really did irritate me. Didn't that person think about whether I wanted some or not? Couldn't they have asked me if I wanted some before they took it from my hands? I found myself getting frustrated at that person. Then, it popped into my mind that that's not what Christ wants of me. He wants me to be gracious to those who irritate me, but I was too frustrated to be gracious at that moment.

What I prayed was, "Popcorn Grace," and immediately Christ calmed me down, so that I didn't respond to the person in a less than positive manner. Although the "Popcorn Grace" prayer was very brief, I was asking Christ to please give me grace with this popcorn situation, so I would respond in a gracious manner, and He did! It amazed me that He knew and understood my brief prayer and granted me that grace, so I could be more gracious as an example of how He works in my life! I have continued to use these brief prayers which are changing my life and my response to others. If Christ can do this for me, He can most certainly do it for you, as well. Try it...what can it hurt?