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I Am Transformed

Transforming Sadness into Joy

“Just because you grow up in a church doesn’t make you a Christian,” said Marta. As a Bible teacher, missionary, and evangelist, Marta exudes love for Jesus. The knowledge of His Word flows from her heart. We were out to dinner when she shared her story.

“I was twenty-nine years old and at my lowest. I was lying in an abortion clinic after my fourth abortion, looking over my life. Sure, I had been a successful marketer for television with a lot of money and prestige. At one point, I had lived in a 14,000-square-foot home with my boyfriend. He had two lake homes and three boats. We were living the life. When I was at this high point, I had no thoughts about the choices I was making.

“But now as I lay in this cold abortion clinic, I began to remember words from Scripture that had made their way into my life. You see, my parents took me to church every time the doors opened. Yet my rebellion was hidden under my beautifully made-up face and carefully manicured nails.

“Underneath the superficial beauty was a wounded seven-year-old who had been abused by my neighbor. My mother had warned me never to go near this person, but I didn’t listen. When the abuse happened, I felt like it was all my fault. So I didn’t tell anyone. I just suffered in silence.

“The most terrible thing that happened in those days of my life was that I didn’t get caught. I could be driving down the road extremely drunk, thinking in my mind that I shouldn’t be doing this because someone could get hurt—but I did it anyway.

“It was like my life was flashing before my eyes as I lay in this abortion recovery room. Sorrow and loss flooded over me as I looked back at my life. I remembered the abortion when I was seventeen. I remember leaving home and getting married at eighteen. I was starting to sink. I needed a change in my life.”

Sadness Depletes Your Strength1

Did you ever wake up and just feel down? Did it take effort to just get out of bed? When you looked at your day, did it feel monotonous and mundane? Everything you ate was tasteless. Everything you attempted seemed pointless. You just wanted to escape into a constant apathetic slumber.

Sadness is emotional pain characterized by the feeling of loss, despair, or helplessness. Sadness is considered to be a short-term lowering of your mood. Depression is when the low mood persists and becomes chronic or unceasing.

In a practical sense, sadness may be a result of any of the following:

Fatigue: You may just be overly tired. Stress can cause emotional fatigue. Stressors can range from the loss of a loved one or concern for your finances, to loss of a job or worry over your child.

Low Serotonin: Serotonin is a hormone in the body that impacts appetite, sleep, memory, temperature, and mood. Women dealing with depression often have low serotonin levels. Periods of stress often make it difficult to eat right or exercise, which will cause low serotonin in your body.

Loss, Sadness, Depression: Along with physical factors, dwelling on negative thoughts and events can extend sadness. Constant feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and emptiness that persist for weeks and months may be a sign of clinical depression. Seek professional help if depression continues or if suicidal thoughts occur. If these feelings prevent your normal functioning, you may be dealing with clinical depression.

Transformation Often Begins at Our Lowest Point

Transformation doesn’t happen until we realize that we need a change in our lives. Sometimes the deepest sorrow is over those things that we are powerless to change, like the death of someone we love. Other times it is realizing that our lives need more purpose and direction.

Change for Marta took place when she was at her lowest. “As I lay on the abortion table, waiting for the father of the child that I had just aborted to pick me up, God began to speak to me. He showed me three men in the Bible: Moses, David, and Paul. All of these men had killed someone, just as I had killed my babies. God spoke to my heart: If He could transform their lives and use them He could change me and use me.

“Jesus, if you could forgive them, you can forgive me. Use me, I pray. That simple prayer was the beginning of the turnaround in my life. This horrible day became the best day of my life as I remembered God’s Word: ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16 NKJV).

“I made a choice that day to receive God’s precious gift as my own. I knew that Jesus had died on the cross for my sins, but this was the first day that I received His redemption as my own.”

Encountering Jesus Changes Everything

Listening to Marta’s story reminded me that God is able to reach us at our lowest point and change our lives. No one is out of the reach of God’s power to change their lives. Encountering God in our daily lives changes our perspective.

I am reminded of the story of the Samaritan woman when she encountered Jesus at the well. Jesus, led by the Spirit, knew that He must go through Samaria. He models for us the call to be available for divine appointments. Normally, you didn’t go to the well in the heat of the day. The fact that the woman was there at that time likely indicates that she was avoiding being around the other women. It was customary for women to go early in the day so they could avoid the heat and have time to fellowship. John 4 shares the story of their encounter.

Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon.

A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)

The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.”

The woman said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?”

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”

The woman said, “Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!”

He said, “Go call your husband and then come back.”

“I have no husband,” she said.

“That’s nicely put: ‘I have no husband.’ You’ve had five husbands, and the man you’re living with now isn’t even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough.”

“Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?”

“Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.

“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

The woman said, “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.”

“I am he,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.”

Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.

The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?” And they went out to see for themselves.

vv. 6–30 MSG

Brokenness and Sorrow Are Healed in God’s Presence

We don’t know all that the Samaritan woman experienced as a girl, but God does. We don’t know how old she was or even her name. Yet she had the longest recorded one-on-one conversation with Jesus. Jesus crossed lines of propriety to speak to her. Jews didn’t speak with Samaritans. Nor did a man speak with a woman without her husband present. A rabbi certainly wouldn’t speak to a woman who had a questionable character.

Jesus drew the woman into a spiritual conversation by pointing to her daily human need to drink water. He enticed her to thirst for spiritual water that would quench her deepest desires. Of course she wanted this living water.

Jesus spoke the truth in love, “Go call your husband and then come back.” Jesus constantly breaks through our barriers to help us encounter Him. He met her where she was at. She had had five husbands, and now the man she was with wasn’t even her husband. Her sin was revealed, so she changed the subject. She picked a topic of theological debate of the day: how and where could they worship God. It was easier for her to talk about religion than about relationship. She was focusing on the law, but Jesus showed her grace.

Because she was a woman, and a person with a poor reputation, the disciples were shocked that Jesus would be with her alone by the well. Likely she had few, if any, women friends. She went to the well alone in the middle of the day rather than suffer rejection by going when the other women went early in the morning. She was an outcast, unworthy to approach God. So God, in human form, approached her.

She was from a despised race. Samaritans were thought of as half-breeds, having a mixture of Jewish ancestry and other nationalities that had repopulated within their borders. They were seen as dogs by devout Jews who looked down on them. Jesus reached beyond the boundaries of race to reach the needs of her heart. He not only prophesied about her present condition, he pointed to a time when salvation would be available to everyone.

Jesus revealed himself to the Samaritan woman, and she received Him as the Messiah, the anointed one sent by God. She didn’t go through a lengthy twelve-step process to be delivered. She entered into Jesus’ one-step program of being lost, then found by Him. She became one of the first evangelists, saying, “‘Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?’ And they went out to see for themselves” (John 4:30 MSG).

The conviction that comes when we are face-to-face with Jesus draws us closer to Him. When we encounter God intimately, we don’t want any barriers between us. There is great power in having the God of the universe know everything about you and still want to be in relationship with you. To be known, accepted, and loved powerfully changes each one of us from the inside out.

The Power of a Changed Life

Marta’s life, like the Samaritan woman’s, was powerfully changed. She wanted to understand theologically what God was saying. The fact that there were three men in the Bible who had also murdered encouraged her that He could use her even though she had killed four babies through abortion.

“I began to pray desperately to know God. I asked Him to take me to a place where I could learn His Word. I wanted to know what God said about God. I pressed in to know Him as He is. I wanted to know the joy of being in His presence. I was tired of my superficial life. I believe God’s Word when it says, ‘Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever’ (Hebrews 13:8).

“As I believed this Scripture, I began to pray for the same miracles that Jesus walked in. The real question in prayer is, Do you believe His Word? I believe that when I pray God’s Word, I am praying His will, and I will receive what I ask for.

“In addition to praying God’s Word, I take time to listen. If this is a real conversation, then I need to believe God responds to my prayers. He will speak to me and direct me.

“I get my cup of tea and blanket, curl up, and get in the Word of God. I always pray for wisdom and ask the Lord to speak to me before I read His Word. A relationship is a back-and-forth conversation.

“You can’t build a friendship with God with a one-way conversation. We need to hear His voice to direct us in the days ahead. We need to recognize Him in the Word and to have His perspective—to see with His eyes and hear with His ears.”

Transformation Impacts the Way You Think

The process of transformation can be a long journey, where the Word of God is your guidebook and prayer is your footpath. In the midst of your walk with God, at some point you will have to confront the way you think.

When you are in the middle of a painful situation, you must believe that life will get better. We get stuck when we don’t know what’s coming next. Facts shout convincingly as negative thoughts bombard us: Things will never change. I will always struggle with this. I will never get better.

One afternoon I was struggling with these negative thoughts, and I decided to talk to my mom, who is a spunky lady. As I admitted my negative thoughts to my mom, she put her hand on her hip, shook her head to one side and said, “Sue, you are in stinkin’ thinkin’.” The way she said it made me laugh, but the truth of her words stuck with me.

Stinkin’ thinkin’ is a downward staircase leading to a dark place in our emotions. When you are stuck in this dungeon of dreary thoughts, it will impact every area of your life. You can’t afford to get stuck in a funk for long. The people you love will know something is wrong by the way you are irritable and hard to please. I define a FUNK like this:

F—Floundering

U—Under

N—Negative

K—Knowledge

In a FUNK your mind is spiraling out of control. One negative thought leads to the next. You may have some “knowledge” about a negative fact. But as you exaggerate the facts in your mind, they do not add up to the truth.

Get Out of Your FUNK

The key to getting out of your FUNK is to reshape your thinking. God’s Word is the most powerful tool you can use to change your thoughts to His thoughts. Second Corinthians gives us great insight on our thoughts:

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3–5

If you are in a FUNK, you believe a lie that makes you afraid. At the core of your problem are thoughts that you need to capture. Make your thoughts obey God’s thoughts.

Every day we have the opportunity to agree with God and allow His perspective to flood us with His hope. It’s like having a pressure washer in your mind. You have a choice to reshape your negative thoughts and replace them with a positive mindset. This does not mean that you and I will not experience emotional pain and loss. In fact, it is the pain that we experience in life that shapes our character to be more like Christ, who was crucified for our sake. Jesus suffered the shame of the cross, yet knew that joy was His inheritance. Joy and honor await every obedient heart that runs the race of faith and doesn’t give up.

You Are Not Alone

The good news is that you are not alone. If you are presently in the pits, there is One who can reach down into the lowest place and bring you comfort. Like a gentle shepherd He will walk in the valley with you as you pour out your emotions in prayer:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:1–6 NKJV

You may not say “Yay!” when you go through a valley of despair, but you can certainly choose to “fear no evil.” You can choose to believe that God “is with me.” You can let Him comfort you as He sets a table for you in the midst of your enemies of anxiety, apathy, sadness, loneliness, despair, or depression.

Replacing My Sadness with God’s Joy

Joy is much deeper than happiness. Happiness depends on our circumstances. Joy shines in like a ray of light into the darkness of despair. Joy is the truth of who God is. Joy is a settled confidence in the goodness of God. Joy is living in God’s presence—fully alive.

As you and I choose to live and walk in the presence of God, His joy will win over every dark thought. Joy is not the absence of pain. Jesus himself felt pain on the cross, but Hebrews 12:2 says:

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Jesus knew joy awaited Him. You are destined for that same joy. Deep, satisfying, fulfilling joy designed by God is the culmination of your journey. But you don’t have to wait for it. It is also a fuel. Joy neutralizes restless discontent and energizes purposeful pursuit—and it’s yours now.

Nothing can steal God’s joy. A rainy day does not squelch His delight in you or the world that He made. God does not become concerned with delays or setbacks. He is above time. He lives in eternity. God is not easily hurt. He never becomes offended. God’s joy is an eternal peace that consequences or circumstance cannot quench.

The joy of the Lord is the strength of every woman of prayer. You are able to replace your sadness with His joy through spending daily time in conversation with God. Joy is the life-giving, hope-filling, peacemaking presence of God. Our joy is ultimately found in our relationship with God. He is the only One who truly satisfies. He is the One who can make your soul content.

Radical joy is a choice of daily gratitude. Gone are your moments of entitled living. Here to stay is the ever-present reality of God-with-Us—Emmanuel. At Christmas, when we sing “Joy to the World,” we are celebrating the triumphant victory of God coming in the flesh. He came down to earth to be one of us. He knows our pain. He suffered and bled and died for us.

Move forward with faith-filled and power-packed celebration of God’s joy. Expect His joy in unexpected places and faces. His joy is contagious. It swallows up sorrow and pain with the wonder of who He is.

~PRAY~

Jesus, I come to you in weakness. Life can weigh me down at times, but you are my joy and my strength. I can turn to you when all else fails. I can come to you in sadness, weeping, and crying. You wipe away my tears with your promises. Help me to look up to you, God. You are my shield of protection. You are my strong tower. You are my hope. Today I choose to surrender my life to you. I put in your hands my daily necessities and needs. I believe you to turn my sorrow into dancing. I take off my heavy coat of dread. I trust you to clothe me with gladness.

Weeping may last during the nighttime, but your joy comes in the morning. I put my hope in you, God. You are my joy and delight. Amen (Psalms 16, 30, 43).