I recently gave 2010 a negative title based on recent events in my life. Today I was reminded of the damage words can inflict on our mentality. If I am negative in my thoughts and actions, my mind and emotions will lean toward negative tendencies. During the previous year, I was on the receiving end of many random injuries; a mixture of self-induced, situational and accidental.
The side of me that enjoys, even relishing at times, self pity chose to focus on the negative side of life. This is not right. This is not acceptable. This is not the attitude that I am to have. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 challenges me to see the good in each situation and find the the blessings in my life. I am further challenged to pray continually. That is where it gets tricky.
What is prayer? Is it me asking God for stuff? Is it saying thanks for things? Asking God to change other people who aren't as good as me? Complaining? Or is it a conversation; an open dialog with my Father? Is it more than just talking when I feel compelled to speak? Could it be that I should seek to be in tune with the Spirit and Its guidance?
My wife quoted verse 16 of 1 Thessalonians 5 earlier today, "Be joyful, always," and it hit me like a ton of bricks. She wasn't even talking to me when she quoted it, but it spoke to me. This is not to say that I haven't heard this verse before. This was the first passage that I read out of the Bible that started me down the path to salvation. It is something like the cornerstone of my walk with God, but I have let this passage and in all truth the entire Bible sit by the wayside while I live my life my way.
My life is not perfect. My life is without things. My life includes suffering and trials. Every life includes these things. But my life is not my own. My life is for the Lord. If I seek Him, seek to be in a relationship that involves communication on a regular basis, then I will find Him. If I ask to see the world through His eyes, I will see blessings in abundance. I have family and friends who love me. I have health. I have life eternally in Heaven.
I am blessed, not cursed, and I will prayerfully seek to see the blessings and share them with the world for the bettering of God's kingdom.
Amen.
All comments are welcome, whether a word, sentence, paragraph or dissertation. Negative and positive are welcome as long as they are clean. My goal here is to encourage and challenge while sharing my thoughts and my life with everyone regardless of their beliefs.
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