When things go wrong, or even when things go right, aren’t we looking for someone to blame? Things go wrong and we blame others or circumstances. Things go right and we are ready to glorify ourselves.
The truth is, the way our lives turn out begins with us. We must accept responsibility for the decisions we make. We are the only ones who get to make decisions for ourselves.
Accepting responsibility is a giant step forward. Keep growing…
Universally we crave acceptance. We want to be loved and accepted for who we are. Yet, people will change themselves to try to “fit in” with the crowd they are in.
There is great freedom in knowing yourself, faults and all, and accepting yourself. This doesn’t mean you stop working on improving yourself. That’s a process that will not stop until you die.
Fitting in might work temporarily, but you will eventually be discovered. You will feel better if you remain true to yourself, and are not concerned with whether the crowd accepts you or not. Focus on making yourself acceptable to God. After all, Gods opinion is the only one that matters…
Through the myriad of challenges life throws at us, one thing remains: hope. Hope keeps us going when everything else is falling apart. Hope is the calm in the storm we are searching for. Hope gives us light when everything is dark. We remain hopeful even when our situation remains uncertain.
Have you lost hope in your life? If so, turn your focus to God’s power and promises. He is faithful to us even when we doubt Him.
Remember this: God did not create us and then forget about us…
Everyone experiences pain. You can’t escape it on this side of eternity. But what you do with your pain makes all the difference in the world.
Pain will either stifle you, shut you down, or pain can be used as fuel to achieve a higher purpose. It’s your choice always.
Fuel burns white hot. Let your painful experiences be ignited inside. Use your pain for the greater good…
Did you know that God is pursuing us every moment of every day? He wants a relationship with us, not to give us more religion but to mold us into the person He created us to be. We are on God’s mind all the time. Is He on ours?
We are rebellious by nature. No one had to teach us that. We don’t want anyone controlling us and that includes the God of the universe. Yet let’s face one simple truth: God is in control of everything. Every breath we take is a gift from our Creator.
I encourage you to take the difficult road. Surrender your will to the Creator. Learn who He is. He will guide you when you allow Him to.
From the Book of Jeremiah: “You will find me when you seek me with all your heart…”
All one has to do to see a world in disarray is open their eyes. An ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea, Hamas doing what they do in the Middle East, and these are just the bigger issues. Are we doomed?
No, we are not doomed. The world has always been a mess. As long as things are going okay in our personal lives we don’t feel the impact. Yet we are impacted.
Fear is what the media thrives on. “If it bleeds it leads” is a common saying in newsrooms across the planet. I’m not minimizing the state of the world. I’m simply saying it’s important to try to look at things objectively.
Should you find yourself fearful or panicked, remember that God is in control. Nothing surprises Him. Take heart. He has overcome the world…
Sometimes life makes very little sense. We try to control outcomes but get sent in a different direction than we planned. What do you do when life is this way?
Connect your dots. Look back at your life and remember other times you were confused or unsure. See how God brought everything together for you. You are here because He got you through other rough periods.
This is a promise: He will do it again…
Have you been around people who get ticked off at everything? Those types of people are difficult to be around.
James wrote to the church of Jerusalem and told them to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. It seems that listening well is the key to slowing our emotions down and thinking. God gave us brains with both analytical abilities and emotional responses, so perhaps there is some science behind James’ admonishment.
Learn to listen if that skill isn’t already in your wheelhouse. Your communication with others will grow exponentially when you do…
In The Book of James, Verse 1:9 the author tells us to “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.” Over the next few days we will examine this a little further.
James was the half-brother of Jesus. In his letter to the church of Jerusalem, we are encouraged to be “quick to listen.” I interpret this to mean listening should be our first choice when interacting with other people. How many times have I barely heard my counterparty because I wanted to get my voice heard? Too many to count…
Listening is an art form, and to really listen is exhausting. Listening is a verb, an action word. And when you rearrange the letters in the word “listen,” you get “silent.” This is not a coincidence.
More tomorrow…
Many of us have heard people use the “if only” excuse. You know what I’m referring to. If only I was taller, more athletic, smarter, I had a better boss, better parents. The list could go on forever. They are simply petty put-downs, but we aren’t putting ourselves down even though it sounds that way.
God created us exactly how He wanted us to be. Each of us has been given unique gifts and talents. He expects us to use them to bring glory to Him, not ourselves. Glory means “high renown or honor won by notable achievements.” The glory goes to God because it was He who gave us the ability.
If you have been guilty of using the “if only” excuse, I encourage you to get rid of it. Eliminate it from your thinking. You are being critical of The One who created you, not yourself…
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