How many times have you read or heard the sentence "This is the first day of the rest of your life"? Every single time I hear it, I hold my chin a bit higher. I make an attempt at a better day than I might have had, productivity-wise. I try harder! There is something so deeply moving and wonderfully motivating about a fresh start! to think that I get one each and every day is a gift beyond imagining and completely worth savoring. Another saying I read recently opined that you cannot go back and change the beginning but you can, in fact, make a choice about the ending. Love that. Another beautiful breeze beneath my wings on this old, careworn, sin-sick and spiritual warfare-filled earth.
Sometimes we find ourselves suddenly staring at a situation that came about through no fault of our own, much like a hiker facing a bear on a lonely mountain ledge. In a case like that, we need the same fortitude called for when we have decided to make a fresh start regarding our own habits and behaviors. The essential thing to remember is to not let the situation defeat you, but instead turn it over to God so that His power will reign in you and in the circumstances and His Spirit will lead you through the narrows. Ephesians 6:18 says "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." (Holy Bible, New International Version)
When you face a challenge, especially one that you had no preparation for, it's super easy to buckle. Depending upon your innate personality, this may happen without your even registering the response. I'm an emotionally complex person (I think we are all wonderfully complex, but MY emotions tend to behave like a pack of wild horses after a gun has sounded), and my reactions to life's curveballs are as varied as the product lines at a flea market. There's no predicting them! My emotions are the strongest current in my life, except the river of the Holy Spirit. If I'm not careful, they drown my purpose. Every now and then I am able to pluck it from the gushing flow and give it a little CPR on the bank. Unfortunately, it's not long before the rapids of my feelings eddy and swirl violently, tossing my purpose again. My current goal is to keep on top of that current. I'd like to stay dry in a lovely canoe. It will all be God's doing, of course. I'd like to hold onto Him so tightly that the current beneath me becomes that of His Spirit! He'll never toss me from the canoe. He'll only sustain me gently within it. The scenery will be magnificent! What an adventure!
I've found a few practical ways to stay on the river of the Holy Spirit versus being tossed down sloughs of despair, terror and wasted time. The first one is, of course, more time spent renewing my mind through prayer and the word of God (the Bible). The second involves not re-polluting my mind after it has been cleansed by the above. When I limit my internet and social media time, my world is instantly transformed. It is infinitely more peaceful and pure. How many times have you read salacious news stories or scrolled your FB feed only to feel as if your spirit has been buried in swamp mud? The third practical way I stay in the Spirit is to be intentional about my life and my gifts. To ask God what to do and then accept his help in doing it. I've got a long way to go, light years, actually, before I can say I've got those three down pat, but I'm headed in the right direction and it feels amazing. My circumstances had to become horrific before I felt an urgency about these matters.( I'm such a procrastinator, I believe I would put off my own funeral if I could, but that's a blog post for another day.)
It's near the end of the day here in North America. Hey, it's the first evening of the rest of my life! I think I'll just be happy tonight!
Sometimes we find ourselves suddenly staring at a situation that came about through no fault of our own, much like a hiker facing a bear on a lonely mountain ledge. In a case like that, we need the same fortitude called for when we have decided to make a fresh start regarding our own habits and behaviors. The essential thing to remember is to not let the situation defeat you, but instead turn it over to God so that His power will reign in you and in the circumstances and His Spirit will lead you through the narrows. Ephesians 6:18 says "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." (Holy Bible, New International Version)
When you face a challenge, especially one that you had no preparation for, it's super easy to buckle. Depending upon your innate personality, this may happen without your even registering the response. I'm an emotionally complex person (I think we are all wonderfully complex, but MY emotions tend to behave like a pack of wild horses after a gun has sounded), and my reactions to life's curveballs are as varied as the product lines at a flea market. There's no predicting them! My emotions are the strongest current in my life, except the river of the Holy Spirit. If I'm not careful, they drown my purpose. Every now and then I am able to pluck it from the gushing flow and give it a little CPR on the bank. Unfortunately, it's not long before the rapids of my feelings eddy and swirl violently, tossing my purpose again. My current goal is to keep on top of that current. I'd like to stay dry in a lovely canoe. It will all be God's doing, of course. I'd like to hold onto Him so tightly that the current beneath me becomes that of His Spirit! He'll never toss me from the canoe. He'll only sustain me gently within it. The scenery will be magnificent! What an adventure!
I've found a few practical ways to stay on the river of the Holy Spirit versus being tossed down sloughs of despair, terror and wasted time. The first one is, of course, more time spent renewing my mind through prayer and the word of God (the Bible). The second involves not re-polluting my mind after it has been cleansed by the above. When I limit my internet and social media time, my world is instantly transformed. It is infinitely more peaceful and pure. How many times have you read salacious news stories or scrolled your FB feed only to feel as if your spirit has been buried in swamp mud? The third practical way I stay in the Spirit is to be intentional about my life and my gifts. To ask God what to do and then accept his help in doing it. I've got a long way to go, light years, actually, before I can say I've got those three down pat, but I'm headed in the right direction and it feels amazing. My circumstances had to become horrific before I felt an urgency about these matters.( I'm such a procrastinator, I believe I would put off my own funeral if I could, but that's a blog post for another day.)
It's near the end of the day here in North America. Hey, it's the first evening of the rest of my life! I think I'll just be happy tonight!
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