Rejoice! "No matter what"

This is Gracie. She is a philly who is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. She wandered over to a tree in her pasture, got curious and inserted her head into the v-shaped opening in the tree to see what was there. Now she is stuck and after struggling to get out she is so exhausted she just sat down, very unlady like and is whinnying out her woes. The good news is that a nice man came along the day Gracie got stuck and, after taking a picture or two, he got his chain saw and cut her face out of the tree. There is a happy ending to this story.

I used this photo in the introduction of a sermon entitled, "How to have joy no matter what." in order to give a visual representation of what "no matter what" might just look like. Have you ever had a day like Gracie seems to be having? Sure you have! Did you manage to get through that day or did you stay forever stuck face first in the tree? Chances are that somehow, one way or another, you extricated yourself or else were extricated by a nice man with a chainsaw. Either way, you got out of your "no matter what" situation.

Consider Paul's advice in Phil. 3:4-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Here's hoping that you will develop the ability to rejoice even in "no matter what" situations. Just a thought. Ed S.