Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 NIV.
As I watch the news, talk to people or pick up the newspaper the same message seems to be abound. Life is HARD!!! It is. Anyone that deny's that obviously has no clue! Bills, job loss, illness, never ending car problems, relationship problems, kid-raising.... the list goes on and on. The news has been flooded with devastating scenes from Haiti, Chili and now Taiwan.
As I was having a moment this morning, my mind quickly shifted to Jesus. I began praying to Him and my mood lifted. Instantly I knew what had to be done... music. I went straight to my blog where my favorite songs are. Even as I type this, I have my playlist playing.
My thoughts are shifting to those that don't know Jesus. How do they manage? How do they face their trials? How sad and scary life must seem. How pointless and angry and bitter... When they are having a bad day, where do they go? How does their spirit get renewed?
Sometimes its easy to forget about Jesus. Self-pity and selfishness can easily crowd Jesus out of our life. We can get instantly swallowed up and drown in a sea of pain. But just as Jesus pulled Peter from the water, He can pull us out of ANY situation we are in.
Perhaps not in the way we want. The situation might still be there but He will give us a peace and a strength that can make us rise up higher than an eagle. We then, can soar above the circumstances.
Today I will focus on praise. No matter what comes my way, no matter how I feel, I will raise my face toward the sun and I will praise. When your heart is focused on Jesus nothing but a smile can be on your face. When you worship your creator, you push away the cares of this world.
So, today, I challenge you to do that. No matter what is going on in your life, push it away and praise the one who can renew. Instead of thinking about how horrible your situation is, smile and just praise. I promise you, your problems will seem alot smaller when your done. =)
I've been working hard recently to replace my complaining with thankfulness. It is always a matter of perspective. I was recently browsing Randy Alcorn's new book, If God is Good and he brings this point so poignantly to light. He used the example of a family that becomes angry and bitter at God when their house burns down ... but that never thanked God the many, many days of years before that they had such a beautiful house! Thanks for the reminder to keep my focus on Jesus!
ReplyDeleteWe have so much to be thankful for in theis country. Even the poorest person in America is richer than poor in other countries. There is still opportunties in this country if we look for them. This was brought home just today when my husband told me that he lost his job yesterday but he had another one within 6 hours so we are praising the Lord
ReplyDeleteDude you are deep!
ReplyDeleteBut there is so much to be thankful for.
I love Stephanie's remark about the house burning down- so true and makes me wonder how thankful have I been for this house that I wanted so bad (you know-lol) and now am usually just frustrated that we haven't fixed it up yet. Maybe I will just concentrate on being thankful for everything!!!
thanks for the post!