Spread A Little SonShine Wherever You Go

Sometimes life sucks. But if we choose to lean on God when life feels hopeless, He promises us that we can find joy in the middle of our hard stuff. That’s crazy, right? But choosing joy when life is hard can be such a gift. Plus, joy is contagious. When we have joy, it makes us want to spread a little Sonshine to others in their hard stuff too.

Honestly, the last thing I want to do is open up God’s Word when I’m feeling defeated. I’ll take a Netflix binge or a pint of Ben & Jerry’s dairy-free Cherry Garcia over Bible reading when I’m down any day.

God’s Word is packed with so many promises that bring hope, peace, and joy when life is hard. Netflix and Ben & Jerry’s leave me with a bloated waistline and an overlooked to-do list. God’s Word fills me up from the inside out, with no tight pants to boot!

Let God’s Word shine into your darkness.

Our ultimate hope can be found in Jesus. He gave us the gift of our salvation due to His death on the cross. How can you not spread a little sonshine to others when you’re filled with the hope of Jesus?

I love the reminder found in 2 Corinthians:

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 NLT

Don’t give up when life is hard.

We can’t give up. Scripture reminds us that our difficulties are small in light of eternity. I know they don’t feel small when we are dealing with a cancer diagnosis, infidelity, grief, bills piling high on the kitchen table, a failed adoption, parenting dramas, infertility, and other things that weigh us down.

But even in the heaviest of circumstances, there is still joy. We may just need to look a little harder to find it and cling to hope.

Don’t let the enemy steal your joy.

Recently, I found myself up before sunrise reflecting on all the craziness of the past few years. My marriage survived losing our forever family. That’s a miracle, y’all. A full-on God miracle.

My heart survived the devastation of losing three little people who called me mom on top of a series of major hurts in my marriage that endured over 20 years. We’ve all faced trauma and heartache in our life. But the Lord remains with us through it all. I’m so thankful for this truth, even when I don’t feel it.

There are still days I honestly don’t think I have the energy to get out of bed, let alone through the day. But God gives me the strength. Just when I feel I’ve run out of hope, He pours more into me through a song on the radio, encouragement from a friend or a random Facebook meme. There aere days where it felt like messages of hope are everywhere.

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT

Spread a little Sonshine today because it’s easy to forget God’s promises in our dark moments.

And let’s face it, just because we aren’t feeling the Word, doesn’t make the Word any less true.

Just because we aren’t feeling the Word, doesn’t make the Word any less true. Share on X

You don’t have to go through your hard stuff alone. You can even find joy in the middle of your trials. God promises that He is with you always.

For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Zephaniah 3:17 NLT

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah 41:10 NLT

There is always something to be thankful for.

There is a heart adjustment that happens when you take time to be thankful in your defeated moments. Taking time to thank the Lord, even in my hardest seasons, has empowered me to share glimpses of the abuse and pain I endured in my marriage with women who need it. I may not be able to travel back in time and fix the choices I made, but I sure can encourage others to find freedom from their abuse and pain when God allows them to cross my path.

What if you made a promise to yourself that the next time you were feeling defeated, you would open up your Bible and turn your heart toward Jesus?

Does it scare you to make that type of commitment to yourself? Or does it empower you? I don’t think either answer is wrong, but whatever feelings this brings up are worth exploring.

Life is always changing. Circumstances and people weave in and out of our lives. Seasons come and go. Bad stuff happens to good people. Good stuff happens to bad people. But God's love never changes. Share on X

Spread a little Sonshine today because God’s love for you is constant!

The Lord has filled my heart with the hope of a future filled with endless opportunities to choose good over evil; kindness over crudeness; service over self. He has filled me with such joy and hope for my life, despite the pain and hardship I have endured.

Whatever hard thing you are going through today, God is right there with you.

God may not show up like you want Him too, but that doesn’t mean He isn’t with you in your heartache.

God uses all of it, the good and the bad, the icky and ugly, the awesome and amazing to bring Him the glory.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:28 NLT

There are to-do lists a mile long and more than enough to keep you occupied and stressed in this technologically-focused world. That’s why you need to be intentional and pause and reflect on God’s goodness in the “easy” times, so you reinforce the habit of reaching out to Him in the hard times.

Spread a little Sonshine wherever you go.

Spend a little time with Jesus today.

Praise Him for His goodness.

Tell others about the work God has done in your heart and your life.

Share the good news with the people God places in your path.

Fill yourself up on His promises, so you can pour them out to others.

Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.

Psalm 96:2-4 NLT