Turning Sadness into Gladness

Good Morning My Loves,

This morning’s scriptures deal with internal sadness. I believe we are in a season where God’s people are “letting go of sadness.” Solomon basically says that we are responsible for our internal life. No one else can monitor or change that for us. We decide if sadness stays, or goes.

Proverbs 14:10 (ERV)

10 When you are sad, no one else feels the pain; and when you are happy, no one else can really feel the joy.

13 Laughter might hide your sadness. But when the laughter is gone, the sadness remains.

-Never let what someone else said or did to you make you miserable on the inside. They don't live inside of you, and they are NOT your happy manager. You are.

-Don’t give your power away to any outside source. Never allow the devil or external circumstances to dictate your inner peace or joy.

As I was praying into these scriptures, I heard the Lord say “Some of My people have been sad, and I’m calling them to trade their sadness for gladness!”

Here are some highly effective ways to let go of sadness:

WORSHIP-There is a divine exchange when we worship God. When we put on our garments of praise, we drive out the spirit of heaviness! He gives us beauty for ashes, hope for despair, and "the oil of joy" for the spirit of mourning (Isaiah 61:3) We literally receive “the oil of joy,” or "the anointing" to destroy yokes of sadness and heaviness through worship. This is one of our greatest weapons against enemy. However, we still must deal with our inner life and choose to guard our heart!

BE GRATEFUL-Gratefulness drives out doom and gloom and is a highly effective way to increase joy and counter sadness.

GUARD & GIRD UP THE LOINS OF YOUR MIND-Dwelling on past hurts, mistakes, and losses, robs you of present joy. Don’t give time and attention to what you cannot change, or that is gone. Focus on the positive. Stay productive and have a forward focus. If you’re going to rehearse the past, ONLY rehearse your history with God, and then begin to sing and shout about His faithfulness!

CONNECT WITH THE BODY OF CHRIST- We all need Jesus! One of the ways we are able to receive the ministry of Jesus is to intentionally put ourselves in fellowship with Him through His Body, the Church. He created us to connect with others, and it’s important that we stay connected when feelings of sadness are trying to overwhelm us. The support of Jesus, through our church family is one of the best ways to increase our happiness and joy. Find a few that you can have coffee, dinner, shopping, fishing, etc.. with, and go do something with them!

BE KIND TO YOURSELF-Ask Papa God how He feels about you, and believe Him. He is Love. He will lavish you with His compassion and grace. Take it all in. Shut down your own critical voice, and start speaking to yourself the way He does. Learn to speak well to yourself.

GIVE TO OTHERS-One of the quickest ways to ditch sadness and inner emptiness is to shift out of what “I’m feeling” and connect with the needs of others. Get involved in helping others, and before you know it, you won’t be thinking about how bad you feel, but how GOOD you feel!

FORGIVE-Don’t hang on to hurts or disappointments. It will make you bitter, not better. Forgiveness releases you from a self-imposed prison of pain. LET IT GO! Release mercy to those who’ve hurt you, and if you’ve made a mistake, receive God’s mercy and release it upon yourself. You can’t give away what you have not received. Spend some time at the cross. Meditate on what God has done for you, and then release that same mercy to yourself and those who’ve done you wrong. I guarantee you that sadness will leave!

I love you all! PV