Smile<\/u><\/b><\/span><\/p>\nJosh Groban<\/p>\n
Smile though your heart is aching
\nSmile even though it’s breaking
\nWhen there are clouds in the sky you’ll get by
\nIf you smile through your fear and sorrow
\nSmile and maybe tomorrow
\nYou’ll see the sun come shining through for you
\nLight up your face with gladness
\nHide every trace of sadness
\nAlthough a tear may be ever so near
\nThat’s the time you must keep on trying
\nSmile what’s the use of crying
\nYou’ll find that life is still worthwhile
\nIf you just smile
\nWhen there are clouds in the sky
\nYou’ll get by if you smile
\nAnd maybe tomorrow
\nYou’ll see the sun come shining through for you
\nLight up your face with gladness
\nHide every trace of sadness
\nAlthough a tear may be ever so near
\nThat’s the time you must keep on trying
\nSmile what’s the use of crying
\nYou’ll find that life is still worthwhile
\nIf you just smile<\/p>\n
This song meant a lot to me during my elementary and teen years.\u00a0 They were very hard for me.\u00a0 I was so conflicted and so confused in so many ways.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that I wondered what life was about.\u00a0 I was so clueless I didn\u2019t even know to ask a questions like \u201cWhat is the purpose of my life.\u201d\u00a0 I knew I hurt and I didn\u2019t know why.\u00a0 I felt a lot of guilt after I got into my teens.\u00a0 I had already done so much wrong and because of that I hurt.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to hurt, but still I did.\u00a0 It is not what I wanted for me.\u00a0 My youngest desires were to be a hero.\u00a0 Since as a child I was raised as Roman Catholic I thought the highest thing I could do with my life was to be a priest.\u00a0 I thought I could serve God and be a blessing to people, but too much was not understood.\u00a0 That didn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n
I was sad.\u00a0 Morose to the point of suicidal.\u00a0 Yet, I sincerely doubt that anyone knew it.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want pity.\u00a0\u00a0 What I wanted was a love and a hope that seemed humanly impossible. Since my sadness was pervasive and seemed endless I would try to practice what songs like Smile preached.\u00a0 Oh, I was good at fooling other people, and sometimes I seemed, and was, happy.\u00a0 But the sadness within never left.\u00a0 This life seemed so hopeless and incapable of being what I really needed.\u00a0 Also, it seemed, that I began to wonder about what the next life might be like.\u00a0 Perhaps there would be happiness there.\u00a0 But then I had thought that I would not go to Heaven so all seemed so hopeless.\u00a0 So very hopeless.\u00a0 I just wanted existing to stop.<\/p>\n
When I was twenty-one I heeded the call from God and accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord.\u00a0 The perpetual sorrow of my soul was vanquished by the eternal joy of God residing there.\u00a0 Darkness is always chased away when Light appears.\u00a0 Now superficial happiness and sadness happen according to circumstances of our life.\u00a0 The joy of the Lord is soul deep, it is spirit deep.\u00a0 So instead of sadness, joy never leaves.\u00a0 Happiness comes and goes with the circumstances that brings them, but I have learned, and grow in, a joy that can never be taken from me, not ever, because my joy is anchored solely in Christ.\u00a0 I will never lose Him, He is my treasure so since I can never lose Him, I will never lose my joy.<\/p>\n
Another strange thing happened when I came to the Lord.\u00a0 Song\u2019s like Smile lost their meaning.\u00a0 They lost their meaning because at the end of the meaning of them, they are empty of true and lasting solace, comfort and joy.\u00a0 Like this world, they can only bring temporary relief and the relief it brings has diminishing results.<\/p>\n
Family, praise, honor and glory to our Savior Jesus.\u00a0 There is no substitute, there is no other.\u00a0 So Smile make me sad, not happy.\u00a0 I know that too many people settle for mud holes rather than lakes or oceans. I find it hard to \u201clike\u201d on Facebook a post that points to anything but Christ for joy.\u00a0 Only in Christ does joy reign.\u00a0 Singing songs of the world that instruct us to find comfort in self alone, or nature, or another philosophy are all a lie.\u00a0 It leads us from Jesus to something else. True songs of joy are songs that lead us remember the love and hope that only Jesus can provide.\u00a0 True songs of joy lead us to praise God and remember how wonderful and mighty He is.\u00a0 So I don\u2019t \u201clike\u201d humanistic encouragement.\u00a0 It saddens me that people are being misled.\u00a0 Let us know, beyond all doubt, that God, and only God, is the source of true and everlasting joy.\u00a0 Then, for eternity, we can smile.\u00a0 Thank you Jesus!<\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.<\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/p>\n
P.S. \u2013 I do not intend to demean Josh Groban, whose talents I admire.\u00a0 Also, I greatly admire that as far as I know, he has never compromised his Christian faith.\u00a0 It\u2019s more than I can claim.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mark 8:35-37\u00a0\u2013\u00a0For whoever wants to save their life\u00a0will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.36\u00a0What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?\u00a037\u00a0Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? https:\/\/youtu.be\/dKw0bqj6NEY Smile Josh Groban Smile though your heart…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[93,94,17],"class_list":["post-1272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-mark","tag-micah","tag-psalm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1273,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1272\/revisions\/1273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}