your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” If we trust that God will only direct us down pathways that are good for us, we could eliminate lots of stress in our lives. If we would listen closely for the Holy Spirit to prompt us in the direction we should go, it would be much easier to stay on that perfect course that God has laid out for us. Just as certain as I am that the weekend before Labor Day each year will be the Highway 61-Yard Sale, I can say with confidence that when God closes one door, He will indeed open up a new door of opportunity for you. Here’s to keeping our eyes wide open in order to see where the Lord is leading us to next!
15…Whatever!
Good morning! Another beautiful day has begun. What are you thinking about already this morning? Is it something good or something troublesome? Maybe you heard something on the news that brought fear to your heart or maybe it’s a lingering problem that has stressed you out. You go to sleep thinking about it and you wake up with it on your mind.
Our thoughts are so important as they determine our actions and reactions. You can’t be scared to death at the same time you’re overflowing with joy. Fear is something we all deal with from time to time but it’s not something God wants us to hold on to. He doesn’t want us hanging on to it like it’s our best friend. Dwelling on the negative doesn’t get us anywhere. True, there will be plenty of things in life that we just don’t like. But that’s where our faith comes in.
Trusting God to get us through these tough or fearful times is the only positive way to handle these issues. So, what does God want us to focus our thoughts on? Philippians 4:8 gives us that answer:
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.
Dwelling on these positives will indeed change our outlook. If you’re struggling with something negative, give the “whatevers” a try. God knows what He’s talking about when He tells us to focus on the good.
16…God’s Amazing Family
Good morning! Having our family around is one of those things I think we often take for granted. We live our lives as though we have all the time in the world to visit with them … later. And then our busy lives go on and “later” just keeps getting pushed back. But as my family unfortunately knows all too well, later isn’t always given to us.
Over the weekend, I got to spend some time with Alan’s mom’s family at a reunion in the park. It was so nice to see all of them again. At one point, I stepped back and just watched everyone talking, laughing, playing with the little ones, taking pictures, and enjoying a meal together. I know this is what God intends a family to be like, a group of people loving and supporting one another and including everyone. It sure made my heart smile knowing Alan would have loved this gathering and it was almost like he was there with us. But even more than Alan would have enjoyed it, God loved it. Where we had about thirty-five family members at our small reunion, God’s family is huge!
John 1:12 tells us who is in God’s family. “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” Some people have tons of “friends” on social media but those numbers do not hold a candle to the number of members in God’s family, both here on earth and in Heaven. I’m sure Alan is still meeting family members up there, since everyone in Heaven is family. So, let’s make it a priority to make time for those we love and do our part to bring someone else into God’s amazing family.
17…Lasting Comfort
Good morning! When things aren’t running smoothly in our life, don’t we run to comfort? For lots of us, we turn to people we love when we are in need of comfort. Others, turn to food, like chocolate or ice cream, to comfort them. And yet others find their comfort in a place, like a favorite location.
While these “comfort-givers” can give us temporary comfort, there’s a real problem with turning to any of them. They are all just temporary fixes. People will leave us, food will be consumed, and a place will only be good while you are at that location. Then what??
If we want real and lasting comfort, there’s only one way to get it. Go straight to the God of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 states:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
God is always with us throughout every moment of every day. He sees all, hears all, and knows all. He can provide us with greater comfort than we can even imagine. Turning to God is the only way I’ve found lasting comfort. Only with His divine comfort, can it be said, “It is well, with my soul.” Praying you find lasting comfort in Him, too.
18…Needing Others
Good morning! Have you ever noticed that we seem to spend time with groups of people? We gravitate to those with a common thread that links us together. For example, all the ladies in one of the Bible studies I was in were all widows. I have dinners as often as I can with ladies I taught school with. Guys hang out with fellow hunters or fishermen and families hang out with other families that their kids are in sports together. There are all kinds of support groups people can also get involved in. There are cancer survivor groups, and on the other end of that spectrum, there are grief sharing groups to help those that have lost loved ones.
These support groups definitely line up with Scripture. Galatians 6:2 tells us to, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” Hebrews 13:16 says, “And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” And Philippians 2:4 tells us to “not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
I am so thankful God created us to need others. We were never intended to live this life alone and I’m grateful to share this life with so many people. But the day I’m looking forward to the most is that day in which the common thread that joins us together is Jesus. Just like the song says …
When we all get to Heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we’ll sing and shout the victory!
Until then …
19…Let Them Out
Good morning! Have you ever experienced the “box effect?” You know, when someone is almost branded to be a certain way. We stick them in a box and give them no room to grow or change. We have certain low expectations of them based on past performances of some kind. Whether it be once self-centered, always self-centered; once a total jerk, always a jerk; once a liar, always a liar; once considered lazy, always lazy; once irresponsible, always irresponsible; and the list could go on for pages. The one very important thing missing in these examples is the power of God. Any of the above examples could be changed with God’s help.
As Christians, we should be growing and changing every day. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” So, if our precious Lord can take us, past sins and all, and daily transform us into the image of Jesus, then why do we try to keep others in the box of what used to define
