Repairing Joy

My car needed some repairs that would take basically all day. The shop is maybe a mile up the road from my apartment. So I resolved to walk to get my car when it was ready.

The walk took 15 minutes at a stroll pace. 
The sun was bright at 98 degrees.
The road was full at the height of rush hour on a Monday afternoon.
I grabbed my water and started out the door.

At first, my mind wandered to a current circumstance. I barely even noticed the road right in front of me. I fought the temptation to not be present, to let my thoughts carry me off to deal with something I clearly couldn't actually deal with at that time. I wanted to see and feel and be there in the walk.

So I looked around. Trees. Grass. Sunlight. Cars. Drivers' faces. Mostly looking at their phones. Or the road. Some even looking at me. Some trying not to. One man waved. Not in the Hey-girl-can-I-get-yo-numba kind of way. But in the I-want-to-encourage-you-in-your-journey kind of way. Another tried to let me cross in front of his car. I waited for the light, thank you very much!

I wondered what they thought. Did they feel pity because of the temperature outside of A/C-filled cars? Did they worry that I was too close to the road? How old did they perceive me to be?

I started to think how grateful I was that I did have a car, one I was just going to pick up. It was costing a lot of money, but it ran well. Even better, after the repairs. I did have air conditioning. I didn't have to walk around from place to place. I didn't really have to walk then. I surely could have called a friend if I thought it necessary.

Then I started to think how grateful I was for the walk. So many blessings and evidences of God's grace were visible in that walk. At the most basic, I could walk. It was no real hassle for me to carry my able body the 1-2 miles across the busy highway. The shop was so close. They fixed my car - did exactly what they said they would. The weather was beautiful. God kept me safe. God provided all the money needed to get the repairs and able eyes and hands that saw problems and addressed them. And when I picked my car up, the man blessed me, pointing my eyes right back to the God who was worthy and deserving of all the thanks.

It's easy for us to see circumstances like car trouble as frustrations come to steal our joy - and resources. But that's not how God sees them. God says that He works everything for our good, those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. That purpose is making us Christlike. The devil would like to deceive us into believing our only logical responses to difficulty and annoyance are complaining, worrying or anger. But God says something different. God says we should count our tests and trials as joy. Joy that will make us perfect and complete through a cultivation of steadfastness.

God is good, and His steadfast love endures forever. Forever doesn't stop when we need car repairs. 

What are you allowing to frustrate you? 
How can you take hold of the joy Jesus already purchased for us at the cross? 
What other truths of God's word are you allowing the devil to discount through difficulty?

Stand firm on the Word, Jesus Himself. And rejoice. Again, I say rejoice. We have the victory in Christ. He has overcome the world and through Him, we are more than conquerors.