"Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you." I Timothy 4:16
If, then. Cause, effect. This is a fundamental idea in life - everything we do has a consequence, whether good or bad.
Now, I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. For the first time in my life (although I haven't lived that long) I have two jobs. Learning to balance church, family, friends, work, myself, has never been harder. Even when I was in Ministry Institute I don't remember it being this difficult. Part of that is because in M.I. I had structure. Now my work schedule changes every week and I don't serve every weekend and sometimes I even miss church because of work. But life is good and I'm grateful for this opportunity to grow.
Isn't that how we should all feel when it comes to trials in our lives? James says "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (NLT) We are to actually be joyful when we face struggles. We're not just supposed to avoid complaining. We're not just told to keep our mouth shut...we're told to be joyful. Let's take a look at what joyful means. According to dictionary.com joyful mean, "showing or expressing joy, as looks, actions, or speech." Showing or expressing joy, which is "the emotion of great delight or happiness." So...we're to be greatly delighted and show it outwardly when something sucky happens to us. That doesn't seem like the natural thing to do. And that's because it's not. There's a constant battle going on between our flesh and our spirit. Galatians 5:16, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature (flesh) craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions." Another verse says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." It is so hard to have joy in our trials because we have a sinful nature. We don't naturally want to do what's right. That's why we have Christ! He has made a way for us to conquer our flesh and do what He would do. Paul says to cast away our old self and put on our new self! We are no longer enslaved to our flesh, no longer in bondage in our sinful thoughts and actions. We have been freed by the blood of Christ to do what's right. Been set free from guilt and now able to walk in confidence. We are now able to have joy in our tribulations because we know that everything happens for a reason. We know that God never gives us more than we can handle (I Corinthians 10:13).
Do you feel encouraged? Do you feel lighter and freer? I do!
Now, how are you going to apply this to your life? Is there a situation you are just being grumpy about? Is there a person you can't even force yourself to smile at because you dislike them so much? Are you taking out your frustrations on the people you love the most? Do you find yourself being negative and complaining a lot?
How bout this: For one whole day let's only say positive and uplifting things.
I know it might sound daunting, but I believe you can do it! Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." You can do it, friend! And if you're feeling especially courageous, you could try a whole WEEK being positive! =)
I didn't begin this blog with the intention of writing about joy and positivity, but that's how it turned out! I wanted to write about actions and responsibility and walking worthy of what we've been called to. I guess I'll have save that for another time.
Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae
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