Have
you ever found yourself in the middle of the stormy seas of life? The blustery
winds and driving rain threaten to blow us right out of the boat into the
tumultuous seas all around us. However, there is always hope in the Lord, regardless
of our circumstances.
Each
morning we start by spending time chatting with the Lord and meditating on His
Word before we ever get out of bed. Five minutes to an hour of peaceful
introspection, surveying our thoughts and emotions, will give us a clue about
our soul's true condition.
This
gives us a chance to listen to God's truth, which heals us, and to center our
focus on Him throughout the day. Taking time for a few deep breaths also helps.
We breathe in air to the count of 6, hold our breath for 6 seconds and breathe
out until all of the air is removed from our lungs.
This
practice cleanses our lungs of the stale air in them, and helps us to calm our
nerves, reduce blood pressure, and restore equilibrium to our soul. When we get
out of bed, we have more peace to get our children ready for school, commute to
work or to do our daily chores at home, as we stand against the spiritual
warfare that the devil has planned for our day.
We
do not need to have our TV tuned to the 24-hour news cycle. Listening to the
negative broadcasters fills our mind with their slant on the events in our
world. Playing praise music is so much more edifying and positive. We can catch
the news once a day to keep us informed on how to pray for our world.
Seeking
God's will, as we jot down our to-do list for the day, helps us to stay
organized, in touch with God's Spirit as He directs each moment, and joyfully
singing praises to God in our mind. We have more order, energy and stamina, and
we are prepared for the divine appointments that God planned for our day.
Prayer:
Father
God, remind us to spend time feeding our soul each day too. We can read an
uplifting book, watch and informative documentaries or positive movies or
follow our sports team, listen to praise music, start a blog with positive info
for our contacts on social media to read, build a campfire, gaze at the stars,
soak up the sun's rays, plant a flower garden that attracts bees and
butterflies, dance around the house as we do our chores, learn useful hobbies,
etc.
Remind
us that no matter how many friends we have on our social media accounts, we do
not have to read everything that everyone posts every day. Help us to choose to
follow those who are uplifting and positive, and to peruse the notifications
from our closest friends and family. We can check in with everyone else when
You put them on our heart. This gives us more time to listen to Your Spirit as
He directs our day.
Thought
for the Day:
We
can mitigate the persistent stress that accompanies our daily life by
increasing our intimacy with the Trinity of God who lives within us; we do this
through prayer, Bible reading, singing melodies in our heart to the Lord, and
giving Him all of the honor, glory and praise that is due to His name; this
positive behavior will reduce our anxiety, give us positive thoughts, minimize
negative emotions, and keep us connected to God's Spirit each moment of our
day.
