You know when you start out a day with a really great attitude? Just ready for the day? Kinda like this….
Yep, well that is not how I felt this past Wednesday morning. In fact, I felt quite the opposite, because the preceding Tuesday was one of the roughest days I’ve experienced on the race. So Wednesday morning I was determined to start it differently. I declared the joy of the Lord over my life, and the victory that I have through him even though my feelings told me differently.
With that, I began my day.
We travelled by tuck tuk 30 minutes into a village outside of the city. As we arrived I took a deep breath and said “not my will, but yours God”. What followed was a day of laughter, love, and the unexpected…
We laughed with childlike abandonment.
We shared our redemption stories with warehouse workers.
We turned an English class into a vessel to share the gospel.
God is so good.
After a day of pure joy, I looked back at the day before where I was so discouraged and asked myself: “what’s the difference?”
The answer: me. My perception changed when I decided to focus less on my own wants and needs(earthly situations), and set my vision on what I am here for(living out of a place of faith in God). I am here to be a vessel of God’s love to anyone and everyone around me.
God never changed. He didn’t forget me for a moment. However, if I don’t remind myself of His faithfulness and what He has done in my life, then (in my humanness) I will loose sight of what is true, and trade it for the lies. I’ll start to focus on the temporary life we have here on earth instead of fixing my eyes on God’s eternal promises.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
??Romans? ?12:2? ?ESV??
All this to say, life isn’t easy, but when life gets hard I lean on these promises from Abba:
“The young lions suffer and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Psalm 34:10
“So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to God who created you, for he will never fail you”. 1 Peter 4:19
These verses, and more are the ones that I use to renew my mind, and refocus to what is true despite my circumstances.
