In 2012, Psychological Science published a study on how stress is reduced through smiling, even forced, fake smiles.

The study showed that people can actually incite positive feelings in themselves by what they do with the muscles of their mouth, even if those muscles are simply forced upward with chopsticks!

If a fake smile can better our feelings, consider what greater good in us can come from proclaiming God’s truth, even when we don’t feel like it.

If we muster up the strength to sing God’s praises, to declare our thanksgivings or to recite Jesus’ words throughout our day, Joshua 1:8 says our day will be successful.

God’s law, His ways of love, will direct our choices and will stabilize our feelings. Following God will ultimately open the doors we are meant to walk through, and give us peace when the doors we knock on don’t open at all.

Perhaps meditating on Jesus’ law of love is like putting a bite of salad in our mouth. Sometimes that really hits the dietary spot, sometimes we just aren’t in the mood. But those nutritious morsels go down the same.

All the goodness we chew, all the nutrients we swallow, nourish us and enable us to live in such a way that fills our lives with all the good things God wants us to have.

Speak goodness; speak hope; speak love. Let your words nourish your heart.