Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.
Don’t be afraid to go look.
Photo credit: Stuck in Customs / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
Month: August 2013
look.
Sometimes, life is uncertain.
Complex.
Disarray.
Turmoil.
But then, if we look closely …
we will discover certainty.
Simple.
Order.
Calm.
God.
aware.
Sometimes it feels like your situation will overtake you …
… but have you thought about the immensity of the earth and 2/3 is covered by water?
And yet it does not overtake the land.
How much more important are you?
God is fully aware of your situation.
Trust.
worry.
When something bad has happened to you, or someone you know, there is a tendency to begin thinking more about each step you take.
Could it happen to me? Could it happen to me again?
Well, yes. It could.
For years, (30 to be exact), this dependable, responsible, efficient writer thought, “But there is so much to take care of. How do I not think about it and…worry?”
It took the deepest pain of life – the loss of a child – to show me I didn’t have to worry. That’s because the only one who can sufficiently lead you through the valley of the shadow of death, is God.
Because I made it through, knowing how I made it through, I realized just how little control we have.
My options were:
a) mistrust (leading to unrest, discontent, and bitterness)
b) trust (leading to peace, contentment, and joy)
You can’t have the latter unless you trust that someone is looking over things.
So now, I get it:
Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?
~~~
Photo credit: Abdulmajeed Al.mutawee || twitter.com/almutawee / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
Matthew 6
trust.
We all trust in something that keeps us going each day.
When we get up in the morning, we trust the water will be there for teeth brushing, shower taking, and coffee making.
We trust our transportation will be there.
When we come home, we trust that our house or apartment will be there.
We were made to trust.
The fact that we don’t think about every step we take tells me just how much we are made to trust.
But then, something bad happens. Sometimes it’s something small and we react with frustration.
Sometimes it’s big and we get confused.
Take that trust you have with the simple things, and apply it to the big things.
Because the One who made you to trust with the small things – has made you to trust with the big things.
You just didn’t know it.
~~~
Photo credit: Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel / Foter / CC BY-ND
perception.
Is a zebra black with white stripes?
Or is a zebra white with black stripes?
The way we look at things can be different. But one thing for certain: it’s a zebra.
We need truth to anchor us. Our perception is not always accurate.
You may be in deep sorrow right now. Or maybe lots of things are just going wrong. Whether you shake your fist at God or you’re confused as to why he “let this happen to you”, one thing is for certain: he is God.
He is God when you’re happy and he is God when you’re sad.
Consider changing your perception to see things from a different perspective. You’ll see something you didn’t see before.
~~~
Photo credit: Mozambique – Moments / Foter / CC BY-NC
angry?
Have you been confused by the way Christianity has been presented?
Have you felt disqualified because someone made you think God is angry with you?
For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.
God is not angry.
He loved the world just the way it was when he took the wrath toward sin upon himself. The payment for sin is paid in full. And God chose Jesus to pay for it.
He loves you the way you are. Like an earthly father loves his child, God loves you even more so.
If Jesus died for the whole world, why would only you be singled out for God’s anger? But wait? What anger?
God knew we would trip and fall many times throughout life. He picks us up just like a father picks up his child.
Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.
This is the love God has for you.
He just wants you to love him back.
~~~
Photo credit: Lost Control / Foter / CC BY-SA
1 Thessalonians 5
eternity.
He has made everything beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity in the human heart;
yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
~~~
Photo credit: Prabhu B Doss / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND
dance.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up …
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance …
~~~
Photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography / Foter / CC BY
purpose.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted …
-The Bible
when it hurts 