Give Your Face a Rest

My thoughts are all over the place this morning.  I have no idea where they are going to take us, but God does.  They may be for you and probably for me.  Close your eyes for a minute and think of someone you don’t want to be like.  I already have a person in mind.

I know it’s a strange request, but surely there is someone you can think of, like the person in your neighborhood that has a frown on their face every time you see them.  And if you had to listen to them spout their negative rhetoric, it would be worse than getting a root-canal.

You should pray for that person.  I’m positive that God prefers them to have a renewed spirit to see things differently and experience peace in their soul rather than capitalizing on the negative.  God can put a smile on their face.

I don’t know for sure if it’s true, but I’ve heard that it takes more muscles in the human face to frown than it does to smile, which brings me to today’s thoughts.  If this is factual that there are less muscles, we need to give our face a rest and smile a while.

The last three words above remind me of a chorus I used to sing in church as a kid.  “Smile a while and give your face a rest.  Raise your hands to the One you love the best.  Then shake hands with those nearby and give to them a smile.”

People do not smile enough these days.  It seems like many of them are down in the mulligrubs with depression, hopelessness and sadness.  Smiles elude them, because they feel there is nothing to smile about.

I’m sure you are aware of the importance of staying healthy and physically fit as we age, but I seldom lift weights at a gym or run on a treadmill for thirty minutes each day.  It’s one of those ‘should do’ realizations, but I fail in this area.  I told you this writing was probably for me.

I do stay active mowing and edging my lawns and smiling at my wife as I plant shrubs when she has new ideas on how to beautify things around the outside of our house.  I am what you might call a ‘backyard mechanic’.

I’ve been blessed with the ability to fix and do things myself rather than hiring them out.  It puts a smile on my face that I am still physically able to stay active, while keeping the money in my wallet.

As a person ages, they need to stay fit and develop their muscles rather than allowing them to decline in strength and develop atrophy.  This may be true of facial muscles used for smiling as well.  Without exercise, muscles lose strength, stamina, and the ability to function properly.  They gradually decline in effectiveness due to the lack of usage.

When I look around and see faces with frowns on them, I wonder if the muscles in their faces have become atrophy for lack of using the smiling muscles.  Perhaps if they did more smiling, facial muscles would stay toned and strong with less sagging, thus preventing those ugly frowns.  Yes, I’m exaggerating a bit.

You might ask this question, “How can I stay positive and keep a smile on my face in a world filled with negativism?”  I believe the answer lies in three adjoining, uppercase letters—GOD.

God is the positive side of the “liberty vs. bondage” equation that gives a reset on life for those that accept Jesus as Lord and asks God to forgive their sins.  The Lord is my laughter and the center of my joy when I think about positive things.

(Philippians 4:8), “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

When troubles come, I turn my eyes toward Jesus, whence comes my help.  Things level out, because He makes it so.  The Bible says that God can bring good out of bad.  As we claim His promises, adverse situations grow strangely dim, while hope provides a smile on my face when I surrender doubt and fear to the Lord. 

The following song says it well.  “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

Being born again and having the hope of living in heaven for eternity should keep a smile on a person’s face for the rest of their life.  Salvation equals big smiles.  This is exactly what God put on my face when I became a Christian—a joyful countenance with a smile.

The day after I gave my heart to the Lord, my friends asked me, “What happened?” as they stared at my face.  I had a huge smile on it, whereas I never smiled here-to-fore when I was wandering away from God’s grace.  They literally saw the change.  My attitude was transformed, and I ceased to use inappropriate words.  I found the peace and happiness that I was looking for.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  In Him there is everlasting joy and smiles galore.  When challenging trials and bad circumstances put a frown on my face, I look to Jesus and quote this scripture, (Deuteronomy 31:8), “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you.  He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

We are eternally blessed, because of Jesus.  He died a horrific death, while enduring excruciating pain as He suffered on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.  He did this because we are precious in His sight.  Jesus loves us with agape love—everlasting love.

God does not want us to worry, fret, or be downtrodden in any way, shape, or form, but wants us to trust Him in all things and have a smile on our face as we walk with Him.  God’s grace is sufficient for whatever His children encounter.  I know this in my mind, and I believe it, but in the next breath I pray, “Lord, I believe but help my unbelief.”

When it comes to accepting it and living by faith like I were in a spiritual bubble, I cling to faith, which is confidence in God.  If God promised it, He will do it!  God does not lie. 

I don’t know if you are like me, but I sometimes frown, pout, snarl, say the wrong things, and complain when things don’t go my way.  When I fail to give challenging moments to Jesus, right away, the turmoil and irruption in my soul are wearisome. 

After a time of struggling, I finally realized that I’m trying to do things on my own, and that if I had only left them on the altar and allowed the Holy Spirit to enter my dilemma as soon as negatives came, victory would have come sooner than later.

Trust comes when I give God all my challenging moments.  This act of faith is usually accompanied with a smile, because the Holy Spirit is my Comforter when I present things to Jesus and leave them with Him. 

Being human, I am sometimes prone to hand my problems to the Lord and then take them back to work things out for myself, thus promoting frowns, unnecessary complaining, loss of sleep, and worry.  We need to give our face a rest and walk in victory, while smiling through the trials.

God is our heavenly Father, and with this knowledge we need not frown.  He is the I Am that I Am, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  In Jesus we live victoriously, while giving our face a rest.  You will be singing that song when you walk in faith… “Smile a while and give your face a rest.”

Walking in joy and smiling at everyone you meet demands a smile back; they cannot help themselves.  A smile is contagious like a knee-jerk reflex or reaction in those that see it.

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Written by,

Papa Boyd