The Power of a Smile
Bill Wilson was part of a team that went on a bunch of expeditions into very dangerous territory in the Antarctic. Conditions were rough. Things got pretty tricky and tough. Tensions would definitely rise between the different men as they tried to live together and survive. And often things would go against these men and the plans would not work out the way they had thought they would. Things that they thought would take them a short time would end up delaying them for a long time.
Smiling Through Difficulties
On one particularly difficult occasion, when the ship that these men were on smashed against the ice and was badly damaged, one of the men wrote this about Wilson: "I can remember him on this occasion, working hard with the rest of us in the endeavor to get the ship afloat with the cheeriest smile on his face and cheery words on his lips, inspiring hope and courage. In all he was always cheerful, and this cheeriness of character shone most in times of distress in difficulty."
Now, these are inspiring words, and I often find that when I read accounts of people of faith, people of great faith, they seem to have this remarkable ability to be cheerful in the face of adversity. It's an incredible characteristic that I really wish I had more consistently.
And maybe you do, too. Maybe as you look honestly at yourself, you think when times get tough, I don't become a very nice person. And when things don't go my way, I tend to have a thundercloud over my head instead of a cheery smile on my face.
Joy in the Lord
Paul said to the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say again, rejoice!” And the key phrase there is “in the Lord”. When we rejoice in the Lord and not in whether things are going well or not then that joy can be sustained.
This man who watched Wilson show this joy said that it gave everybody else great courage. Maybe in your situation today, if you are cheerful in the face of adversity, others will see your hope and be amazed. And maybe you can point them to Christ simply by having a smile on your face.
Go through your day and whatever comes your way, may the Holy Spirit inspire you to rejoice in the Lord always, and smile even in the face of difficulty.
