Well, the new year did not start the way I had hoped. You see, I have been under the weather this past week with an unknown virus that has stolen my sleep and fatigued my body. Meetings have been postponed and ministry work has been delayed. So instead of hitting the new year running like I had planned, my current physical condition has knocked me to my knees. Interesting, isn't it?! 

Perhaps therein lies the lesson. 

God is reminding me that my "best foot forward" needs to be the one that begins on my knees. And I admit, I probably would not have been so still, at rest, and conscious of prayer, had I not been knocked out with this flu. And it is that realization that is warming my soul.

I am reminded of the part of Psalm 30:5 that states, "Weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning." This temporary setback has me also thinking about the many people who face every day fighting a debilitating disease and still maintain their joy in the morning.

How do they do it?  They endure through with a perspective of purpose. You see, joy is not a natural emotion, but an inward manifestation of a spiritual condition. And with true joy as the medicine to the spirit, no adverse set of circumstances can steal it. 

I am still feeling the effects of this cold, but these lessons have warmed my soul. God never brings us to a place of discomfort without providing for us a greater comfort in Himself. And I thought nothing good has been accomplished over these past several days, yet after re-reading these thoughts, I am reminded that God is in the business of using everything we go through as the means necessary to grow us in Him.

I rest in this truth.