4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
What makes you smile? Maybe a gentle answer, a touch, a kind word? What if you don't get the things you think you need to make you happy? Did you know it is impossible to love someone who you think you need to make you happy? It is impossible to worship God for who He is when you are looking to other things to give you what only He can do? Meet the deepest need of your heart.
This morning after 13 hours of sleep and still drugged I found myself beginning to slide into the spiral of self pity and disgust. For weeks and weeks now my doctor has been taking me off my old medication and placing me on another one. I slept until noon today and couldn't hardly walk when I got up so I had to lay down even longer until the medication had worn down. My temper was short and I began to feel sorry for myself.
A friend called and we talked. She was a God send and His rescue for me. It is not a long term solution to think of others worse than you for self pity. It is deadly to compare yourself because you can always think of those who are worse than you or better than you. What is life giving is to be thankful for what you do have. To pray to God and to think on the things of heaven and what He has in store for you. Who you are in Him. The truths God has set before us in His word.
The reason comparing and thinking of those who maybe worse off, is no cure for the spiral of death, is because God has ordain and sovereignly place the suffering in your life to kill you. To kill your flesh so therefore your suffering is painful especially for you. Your cross to bare is designed for your personality, heart and life, to put you to death to have life in Him. To bring Him glory through you. What maybe suffering for one man, may not be suffering for another. But it may...so do not compare. But give thanks. Think on whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure and lovely, commendable. If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
You may know all the right bible verses but until they have impacted the way you live, your heart it does not matter. We are "to go to God" to do for us what we cannot do. To trust Him with where we are and what He is doing in our lives and the lives of others. We are human and life is hard but God is so very Good and He wants us to have His mind and know His goodness, mercy, grace and truth in our very heart of hearts. He wants us to know peace and joy in Him and not our circumstances or other people. The only way we know if we "believe" this is true "for us" is by the way it impacts our minds and hearts and life for Him and for others.
I went to see my dear friend Mary Kate, yesterday. MK has been in a wheelchair all her life and has was born with cerebral palsy. Her mind is good, very good but what is great is her smile. Her dad said Mary Kate leads with a smile.
She loved the cotton candy and chocolate I took her. It made us both smile. She gave me chocolates and a dish scrubber I love. But the greatest gift she gave me was her smile.
I have known Mary Kate most of her life and have never seen her without a smile.
This is how Mary Kate communicates to the world. With her computer and head device. She also has a machine that talks for her with her head device.
She goes to a trade and works every day through the week. She is an amazing woman who looks on life with a smile. Her family is amazing. They talked about the whole world that opened up for them when they could communicate with MK through this device on her head and the talking machine. They were so very thankful. She and I write on fb. She is one of my best writing friends there.
To live a life of joy, peace and contentment our eyes must get off ourselves onto the things of God. On to what He wants to do through us in the lives of others. How He wants us to enjoy Him and others. Our lives becomes one of thankfulness and not of grumbling and complaining. But when this does happen, remember the truth and go to him. He is able to work miracles in our hearts when we cry out to Him and are honest with Him about where we are and what is going on in our hearts. That is where He gets the glory in and through us because we are depending on Him and not ourselves. Apart from Him we spiral. In Him, we have life.
Let me leave you with some closing thoughts...what makes you smile? I was in Walmart looking for Mary Kate some cotton candy and this older lady stepped in front of me and said "smile you are on Candid Camera". I told her I was so upset I couldn't find candy for my friend. But then I thought what is the everyday look on my face. Overall positive emotions can add up to 7 years to your life they say. My husband said the other day to me "smile"! Don't you think the Lord is telling me something lol. I want to smile into tomorrow because I trust God and what He not only has done but is doing. God is bringing Himself glory through our suffering. This is important to realize. I want to laugh more, have more joy and have a smile that leads my day, that leads my way! Smile! :)
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