Are you finding delight in God these days?
Or, is your faith kind of lackluster? A faith that feels dry and mundane?
It's not supposed to be that way. Now, I'm not talking about feelings for feelings can be affected by all sorts things (food, drink, weather, sickness, other people). I'm talking about seeing God above our lives and permeating all aspects of our lives.
If you don't have that here's something you can do:
"Great are the works of the LORD; They are studied by all who delight in them." Psalm 111:2
If delight can bring forth study, the reverse is true also -- study can bring delight.
Start looking up. Psalm 19:1-2 says, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And they expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge."
Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks within himself, so he is."
So what we dwell on is what we begin to resemble. If I'm constantly filled with worry, I will become a big ball of stress. If I think and dwell and watch TV shows filled with lust and murder and deviant behavior, that's going to affect me. If I read books and magazines lifting up anti-godly values then that too will affect me negatively.
Our brains are sensitive organs. They are flexible. They change. They adapt to the information given them. We train them to become what we want them to become.
I've been writing down memories. Some of them haven't been pleasant to write and have even affected me negatively. This is because I'm still remembering them as I felt them when they happened. What I need to do is remember them from the perspective of who I am now, the perspective of a woman who believes in Christ Jesus and who has seen Him transform life. He can do that to memories too. He can help us see them with new eyes so we can see the humor and the compassion and the misunderstandings that possibly resulted in us being hurt back then (not always but sometimes).
Like this silly memory -- my hair was cut in third grade and I hated it. I thought I looked like a boy and I had always wanted long beautiful hair and so at the time I was ashamed. That was 8-year-old Jane's perspective. But if I look back on this memory and look at pictures, I realize I looked adorable. That little shag haircut emphasized a cute little face. And that's probably what all the adults in my life saw. And other kids -- well, kids are kids. They probably didn't care one way or another if I even had hair. I can choose to remember the shame I felt or I can choose to remember the memory as I see it now and smile.
We can study life today and see God -- in our surroundings, in nature, in other people's lives; in our lives and even in our memories. And if you have children, your children are watching how you live, how you choose to spend your days; where your focus is. Are they learning to worry? Or are they learning to worship?
Or, is your faith kind of lackluster? A faith that feels dry and mundane?
It's not supposed to be that way. Now, I'm not talking about feelings for feelings can be affected by all sorts things (food, drink, weather, sickness, other people). I'm talking about seeing God above our lives and permeating all aspects of our lives.
If you don't have that here's something you can do:
"Great are the works of the LORD; They are studied by all who delight in them." Psalm 111:2
If delight can bring forth study, the reverse is true also -- study can bring delight.
Start looking up. Psalm 19:1-2 says, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And they expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge."
Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks within himself, so he is."
So what we dwell on is what we begin to resemble. If I'm constantly filled with worry, I will become a big ball of stress. If I think and dwell and watch TV shows filled with lust and murder and deviant behavior, that's going to affect me. If I read books and magazines lifting up anti-godly values then that too will affect me negatively.
Our brains are sensitive organs. They are flexible. They change. They adapt to the information given them. We train them to become what we want them to become.
I've been writing down memories. Some of them haven't been pleasant to write and have even affected me negatively. This is because I'm still remembering them as I felt them when they happened. What I need to do is remember them from the perspective of who I am now, the perspective of a woman who believes in Christ Jesus and who has seen Him transform life. He can do that to memories too. He can help us see them with new eyes so we can see the humor and the compassion and the misunderstandings that possibly resulted in us being hurt back then (not always but sometimes).
Like this silly memory -- my hair was cut in third grade and I hated it. I thought I looked like a boy and I had always wanted long beautiful hair and so at the time I was ashamed. That was 8-year-old Jane's perspective. But if I look back on this memory and look at pictures, I realize I looked adorable. That little shag haircut emphasized a cute little face. And that's probably what all the adults in my life saw. And other kids -- well, kids are kids. They probably didn't care one way or another if I even had hair. I can choose to remember the shame I felt or I can choose to remember the memory as I see it now and smile.
We can study life today and see God -- in our surroundings, in nature, in other people's lives; in our lives and even in our memories. And if you have children, your children are watching how you live, how you choose to spend your days; where your focus is. Are they learning to worry? Or are they learning to worship?
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