Even when there is nothing in our circumstances to be
thankful for, and even if they are excruciating and cumbersome, Paul - who
suffered greatly for the cause of Christ - exhorts us to count everything as
joyous (James 1:2-8).
He was not addle-minded, crazy or overly optimistic. What
he realized is that, like Jesus, we grow into spiritual maturity through the
things that we suffer (Hebrews 5:8), our intimacy with God increases, and we
realize that God plants a seed for a miracle in the midst of every trial.
When we simplify the carnal aspects of our life, this frees
us up to give more of our attention to the Lord, and it also gives us more joy
to fill our heart. We start by getting rid of everything in our home that we do not use, especially our possessions that are stored in closets, the garage and storage units around town.
When children's events and our vocation overwhelm us, we can limit our children to just one extra-curricular event at a time. This practice greatly simplifies life for us, and frees us from hours of running around to different activities that seem to happen all at the same time.
When children's events and our vocation overwhelm us, we can limit our children to just one extra-curricular event at a time. This practice greatly simplifies life for us, and frees us from hours of running around to different activities that seem to happen all at the same time.
As hard as
it may be to say, "No", we can also refrain from volunteering to take
on extra tasks at work - diligently giving them our 40 hour commitment, but not
more than that. If we do not like our job, we can ask the Lord to open the door
for us to have a career that we look forward to going to each day.
Simplifying
also includes assigning household chores for our children, regardless of their
age. They can earn an allowance for doing their chores without being nagged.
That cuts down a great deal of clutter around the house, and also helps them to
grow into very independent, self-motivated adults.
(https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/parenting-challenges/motivating-kids-to-clean-up/age-appropriate-chores)
Paul's words pass along his enthusiasm to us. We lose our
joy if we forget his admonition; and instead, we keep our focus on our hardships.
Keeping our focus on our faith in God's faithfulness, we fellowship in Paul's
joy in the Lord.
Prayer:
Father God, help us to find ways to shrug off the demons
of perfectionism and also codependence. This will simplify our life by giving us
more time to grow in spiritual maturity and in our intimacy with You. Give us
employment that we enjoy, along with order and intimacy in our home life. Provide
us with a loving and supportive church family. Draw us together with our mate
in order to shine as a couple for You.
We worship You for Your beauty, mercy, grace, benevolence,
and Your absolute goodness to all of Your Saints in every area of our life. We
rejoice in You always, regardless of our trials and negative circumstances (Philippians
4:4). We lift You up with our praises, and we walk in Your ways each moment of
our day.
Thought for the Day:
Once the outer clutter in our life is simplifies, the the inner clutter starts to melt away too; we are free to focus on the Lord and to make Him our priority in our life.
- Colossians 3:3-4
Once the outer clutter in our life is simplifies, the the inner clutter starts to melt away too; we are free to focus on the Lord and to make Him our priority in our life.
- Colossians 3:3-4
