We can spend the day meditating on “what happened” or we can make a decision to have a wonderful day through Christ anyway.
Ever get up on the “wrong side of the bed”? We all have those days when we wake up to a set of circumstances we didn’t plan–like spilling the coffee, losing the library books, forgetting the appointment, you name it. But life’s trivial mishaps don’t have to dampen our spirits.
We can spend the day meditating on “what happened” or we can make a decision to have a wonderful day through Christ anyway. Instead of allowing circumstances to make us irritable, consider this advice…
Romans 12:1
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.” (The Message)
This is powerful. If we can learn to submit even the troubles we experience in life to God as an offering, knowing that He rewards every seed sown in faith, we will put ourselves in a position to receive more from God—more of His wisdom, more of His ability to love, more of His capacity to forgive, and more of His power. How is this possible?
- Get rid of self-pity and complaining, which is merely rehearsing the problem.
- Fill your mind with God’s word. If you are too annoyed to read scripture, try listening to praise and worship music.
- Get a fresh perspective. Go for a walk or just step outside for a breath of fresh air. Observing nature (God’s creation) reminds you of how God has a beautiful plan and there is order in the world, even if yours does seem chaotic at the moment.
- Pray. Ask God for help. God promises to give wisdom to all who ask (James 1:5)
Hearing from God leads to the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). God’s peace enables us to have power over the situation instead of the situation having power over us.
The next time we are tempted to be upset by the unexpected, we don’t have to focus on ourselves and give in to how we feel about the discomfort. Instead, we can focus on how God is maturing us through every situation He allows in our life. Just because we start our day in selfish-mode, doesn’t mean we can’t start it over in “God-mode”—inwardly submitting our will to His will for us in every trial. Remember…
Romans 8:7
“Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God.That person ignores who God is and what he is doing.”(The Message)
