Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Joy
written by Joel Osteen
November 13 2012
Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Joy
Key Truth
Life is 10 percent what happens to you and
90 percent how you respond.
I had a real nice sports car when I first dated my wife, Victoria. I
was in my early twenties and wanted to impress her, so I kept that car
spotless. There wasn’t a scratch on it. Then I was driving home from
Victoria’s house late one night and I had an accident. I was proceeding
through an intersection. The light was green. Another car going
the same direction turned right from the wrong lane and hit the back
of my sports car, spinning it around.
After taking a few moments to calm down, I stepped out of my
car. I knew the accident wasn’t my fault, and I’m naturally easygoing.
There is not much that upsets me. I checked my spotless car. The
back end was totally destroyed.
About that time the other driver climbed out of his car. It was very
dark, but I could see he was probably in his fifties. He started ranting,
raving, and cursing, and then he said, “Kid, learn how to drive. I
am so mad at you.”
I thought to myself, I’m the one who should be upset. He just turned
from the wrong lane. He was about thirty yards away. I could see
he was working up his anger. Then he started running toward me
like he wanted to fight.
My first thought was, Do you want some of this?
You know that’s not true. My real first thought was, How big is he?
When he came within fifteen yards, I saw he was twice my size.
Right then and there I had a revelation: This was not a battle worth
fighting. I went around to the other side of my car.
You say, “Joel, you mean you were a chicken?”
No, I just wanted to live!
He fit into that category of people who will never be at peace with
me. We all need to accept that some just will feel that way about us.
They will never see our point of view. We might as well let them
go and move on. And even if we could win them over, we’d have to
wonder if it would be worth it. What is this going to accomplish?
What if I had stood up to the guy whose car hit mine and showed
him what I’m made of? Big deal. I didn’t even know the man. He’d
been in my life for less than ten minutes. Trying to make peace with
him was not worth the effort. I made a decision that I was not going
to give him my power, my joy, or my peace. I stayed away from him
and let him cool off. Then we exchanged information and we let the
insurance companies handle it from there.
Go into each day positive, hopeful, and expecting God’s favor.
But at the same time be realistic, knowing that most days will not
go exactly as you planned. If you become stressed because you are off
schedule, frustrated because someone offended you, or upset because
your child wouldn’t eat breakfast, you are giving away your power.
It’s good to have plans, but at the first part of every day, submit
those plans to God and just say, “God, this is what I would like to
accomplish today. But I know You’re in control, so I submit my plans
to You. And I’ve decided in advance that no matter what comes my
way, I will stay in peace, knowing You are directing my steps and that
all things will work together for my good.”
This is an extract from Every day a Friday Journal by Joel Osteen. To buy the book now, click here
|
|
|
