Moods

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (Ephesians 1:3 NAS)

When I was a young Christian, I was taught to use colors to highlight verses in my Bible to help me easily find different aspects of Bible truths. Blue was the color designated for representing blessings from God poured down from heaven in the sky of blue. This positive representation of blue however is unusual because in the secular world blue is usually represented with negativity. Colloquial expressions such as 'Monday blues' and 'feeling the blues' are examples of negative representations seen from the perspective of life on earth as drudgery.

Monday blues and feeling the blues are often associated with connotations of being mundane or meaningless, in low spirits, reluctance, dejection, depression, despondence, wasting of efforts, melancholy, apart from it being a joy killer. Such negative connotations and emotions are frequently expressed by people around the world, even among Christians. These emotions and feelings of negativity are clear indications of moods and attitudes build on the insinuations of the devil to cause us to lose hope and to indulge in depression rather than to live our lives to the fullest.

We probably have experienced blues in our lives at one time or another. Some of us may feel blue when things are not going as smoothly as we hope. Others may feel blue because of the start of a new week doing mundane or meaningless work. Yet there are also others who genuinely have good reasons to be in low spirits, maybe as a result of some misfortune, mishap, misadventure, or suffering. All these reasons or excuses, however, are not good enough reasons for us to be disheartened or dispirited.

As believers and representatives of the true and Living God, we should be filled with joy overflowing at all times, even while in affliction (2 Corinthians 7:4; Acts 13:52). This is because God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Maintaining a joyful spirit when doing our work is therefore crucial, even if it is not at all interesting or the ideal job we are seeking (1 Peter 2:18), for in whatever we do, we must do it heartily as for the Lord rather than for men (Colossians 3:23). We should therefore give of ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord, knowing with certainty in our hearts that God will not hesitate to open up the windows of heaven to pour out His blessings on us until it overflows (Malachi 3:10; Romans 12:1-2).

Fill us dear Lord with Your joy and pour out Your blessings on us. Open our eyes Lord to see life in the correct perspectives that we may not indulge in depressive moods, but be renewed in our spirits with joy overflowing. Remove from us Lord the spirit of negativity that we may live our lives meaningfully and victoriously, each day with great expectancy as we face every situation with You in supremacy. Blessed be Your name O Lord for You are worthy to receive all praise and all glory!