Life is full of many ingredients. There are times of fun and enjoyment with things that really make a person feel fulfilled and satisfied. However, life also is full of pressure, hard work, and sometimes pain. At times a person feels like the hard times outnumber and outweigh the good. In our society the temptation is to take some form of medication or pleasure to ease the pain. The struggle is that the medication never solves the problem. The pain always returns after the thrill wears off. The question is: how does one get through the hard times and what is the most important ingredient?

The Apostle Paul gives an astounding command in the 4th chapter of the letter to the Philippians. He says that we are to: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice.” It is easy to rejoice, be happy, and be filled with joy when things are going well, but how can a person do that in the times of pressure, hard work, and pain? As a matter of fact, that seems to be humanly impossible. The human temptation is to complain about the hardships around us. We feel that if we grumble hard enough, maybe it will get it out our system and make us feel better.

The key phrase in that commandment from the Apostle Paul is, “…in the Lord…” Humanly speaking it is impossible to always rejoice and be filled with joy. However, God wants to produce a miracle in each of our lives if we will let Him. The key is a relationship with our Creator. As we humble ourselves before God asking for His mercy and forgiveness and open our lives to Him and invite Him to live inside us, He gives us a new dynamic of life.

Jesus makes the statement in John 15:5 that without Him we can do nothing. In other words God created us not to live by our own power, but rather by His power through us. In Philippians 4:13 the Apostle Paul reminds us that we can do all things through or in Christ who strengthens us. So if I try to be happy and filled with joy all the time by my own strength it will never work. I will wear out emotionally. But if I walk with God, He will give me the power to do what is humanly impossible.

It is interesting that in the Greek language from which the New Testament of the Bible was written, the words “grace, joy, and thanksgiving” all come from a similar root word. God’s grace is His empowerment to us to produce joy. Thanksgiving is the catalyst that opens the door to it all. In other words, as we encounter the times of pressure, hard work, and pain, we turn to God and lean upon Him for His grace and strength. Then even though we do not necessarily feel like it, but purposely give Him thanks for what He is doing in the situation, God can transform it from night to day. There will still be the pressure, hard work and pain, but He will give the strength we need in the midst of it all and enable us to go through it.

There is a promise in Romans 8:28 that reminds us that, “All things work together for good to them that love God and to them who are called according to His purpose.” My prayer is that you will experience life’s most important ingredient of a close relationship with God. May God richly bless you!