The Joy God Provides

<p>When Marcia&rsquo;s out in public, she always tries to smile at others. It&rsquo;s her way of reaching out to people who might need to see a friendly face. Most of the time, she gets a genuine smile in return. But during a time when Marcia was mandated to wear a facemask, she realized that people could no longer see her mouth, thus no one could see her smile. <em>It&rsquo;s sad,</em> she thought, <em>but I&rsquo;m not going to stop. Maybe they&rsquo;ll see in my eyes that I&rsquo;m smiling.</em></p> <p>There&rsquo;s actually a bit of science behind that idea. The muscles for the corners of the mouth and the ones that make the eyes crinkle can work in tandem. It&rsquo;s called a Duchenne smile and it has been described as &ldquo;smiling with the eyes.&rdquo;</p> <p>Proverbs reminds us that &ldquo;a cheerful look brings joy to the heart&rdquo; and &ldquo;a cheerful heart is good medicine&rdquo; (15:30 <smallcaps>nlt</smallcaps>; 17:22). Quite often, the smiles of God&rsquo;s children stem from the supernatural joy we possess. It&rsquo;s a gift from God that regularly spills out into our lives, as we encourage people who are carrying heavy burdens or share with those who are looking for answers to life&rsquo;s questions. Even when we experience suffering, our joy can still shine through.</p> <p>When life seems dark, choose joy. Let your smile be a window of hope reflecting God&rsquo;s love and the light of His presence in your life.</p>