Though We Suffer Loss

 

Whoever offers praise, glorifies God (Psalm 50:23). We praise Him in our victories, our successes, and our blessings, as well as in our diseases, our worries, our fears and our setbacks (Job 13:15).

There are many times when things do not go our way. We feel frustration, remorse, defeat and hopelessness; yet, we rejoice in the God of our salvation, who is our strength (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

This connection with God acknowledges that He is in control of our life at all times. It humbles us and causes us to shift our focus from our self and our problems to Him, our Problem Solver.

The more we establish and maintain our unity with God, the fewer trials and negative experiences occur in our life. When they do come, as trials always have a way of infringing on the best of times, the trauma is short-lived because of our positive attitude.

We see the daily blessings in the negative situation, and we see the hand of God working in the details to bring us encouragement and support as we suffer loss and ill health.

Job knew the power of prayer. He lost more in one day than most people lose in a lifetime. He suffered anguishing emotional, mental, financial and physical loss all at the same time. Yet, he chose to praise the Lord.

Sitting in the pile of ashes, scraping his boils with broken pieces of pottery, his trust in God never faltered. He endured endless days of torment and suffering with His hope planted firmly in the Lord.

Prayer:

Father God, the length of Job's suffering discouraged him and caused him to question You, and to wish to die and end his misery; but You sustained him through those harsh and unwarranted issues and blessed him with more than he lost. We thank You that regardless of the circumstances we experience You are always in the midst of them with us.

It is encouraging to see that Satan has no power over us. There are only two ways that he can inflict us: if we open the door to him by our attitude and behavior, or if You give him permission. We know that if we walk uprightly before You, anything we suffer will result in more blessings in the end. Therefore, we praise You, even if You decide to slay us (Job 13:15; Daniel 3:8-18).

Thought for the Day:

When we experience the challenges of life, we learn to trust in the Lord with our whole spirit and soul, and to walk in His will rather than in our own goals and plans (Proverbs 3:5-8), as we live each moment by faith in His faithfulness, and guided by His Holy Spirit.

Avoiding the Pit of Depression

Three major causes of discouragement in this life are when our plans do not work out for us, our expectations are disappointed and our perceived desires are not fulfilled.

We hope that our life will turn out a certain way, and when it takes a course outside of our control, we get depressed or we fight tooth and nail to gain control again, which is impossible.

The little nagging issues that arise, setbacks that occur and people who disillusion us will wear our nerves thin and gang up to overwhelm us.

These issues etch away at our positive attitude and tear us down to the point of exhaustion. Rather than to succumb to them, we come up with witty mottoes to discharge our anxiety, such as: "Trouble only comes in threes."

The remedy for plans going wrong is to stop making them.

We can avoid so many negative aspects in life by walking in the Spirit and seeking God's counsel for each moment of our day (Proverbs 3:5-6). We consult God for His plans (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Through prayer, we find out God's desires and walk in His Spirit, accomplishing so much more through His direction, inspiration and power than we can through our own human strength.

God's love, instead of our human compassion, directs us according to His will. ​When we walk in His ways, we find the resources, words and ideas we need to accomplish His list for our day.

We set our priorities according to Biblical principles, and we keep Jesus as our first love. ​As we rely on God's agenda and wisdom, rather than on our human capabilities, we live a life centered in Him.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to do only those works, which You planned for us before we were even born (Ephesians 2:10). This means that we may say "No" to the good things and the dire needs presented to us, unless You tell us to help.

Teach us that although we may feel guilty for not helping someone in need, even when we have the time and means to help, to obey You and not to step out of your will for them and for us by helping anyway.

As we wait on You, we never enter the pit of despair, because we view all of the opportunities, issues and demands in our life with the eyes of Your understanding and according to Your will for us.​

Thought for the Day: 

Rather than living under the tyranny of the next item on the agenda, or the next emergency, which presents itself, we dispel depression and stress by totally surrendering to God's direction.

Live Well with a Positive Attitude

I am so concerned about people who live from one day to the next in more pain and misery than they did the day before. Things never go right for them and they are always focusing on the negative aspects in their life. I know that some people are genuinely ill; but I have seen others, in the same position, with a smile on their face and a jaunt in their step.

If we do all we can to prevent the pain or circumstances in our life, then we can look to God to deliver us from them. He may surprise us by taking us home to heaven, or allowing some major decision to be made that will affect our life drastically. However, we can continue to live a positive life by focusing on the pure, lovely aspects, which He constantly supplies for us (Philippians 4:8).

Expectations ruin our life and our health. We expect deep relationships, abundant finances, stellar health and increasing spiritual growth each day of our life. When this does not happen, we are devastated. Then depression settles in, coloring every other aspect of our life. Our spiritual, emotional, physical and mental health are all affected by our negative attitude.

We also get too involved in too many aspects of life; and this tires us out, pressures our schedule and makes us feel used and abused. We end up getting tension headaches, stress-related illnesses and our soul gets disheartened and miserable. We get grouchy, irritable and too sick to do anything. The answer is to live each moment in gratitude and praise, led by God's Spirit in every aspect of our life.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to cast our cares on Your shoulders. You promise to take care of them and us (1 Peter 5:7). That means that we can thank You for the answers before we ever get them. If we focus on our troubles, we live in a negative spiral that can only get worse. This causes tension, fear, unhappiness and despair. However, if we live with our faith in You, we maintain a positive attitude. Then we will reap many more positive results in our life with Your love filling our soul with joy.

Thought for the Day:

Prayers of gratitude keep our focus on God's Presence in our life rather than on our circumstances. - Matthew 6:25-33; Luke 12:22-31

God's Got It All Under Control

Regardless of our social, economic or religious standing, we often feel disappointment throughout our lifetime. It is clear that disappointment is no respecter of persons. We all foster expectations and we hope to achieve certain goals, which never come to pass. We sink into the pits of discouragement and flounder in the sea of despair. These negative emotions are murder on our body and soul (Proverbs 13:12).

The alternative is to surrender our expectations to God and to gratefully accept the conditions He allows to come our way. Then, we will live in serenity. God has a perfect plan for each life and only in the center of His will do we find perfect peace and contentment (Isaiah 43:1-2). Faith in God’s faithfulness will provide us with inner joy and tranquility regardless of our circumstances (Romans 5:3-4).

When we compare our issues with the life of those who are persecuted for their faith, we gain a better perspective. When we prioritize our life with our standard as eternity, our temporal issues are trivial at best (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Christians throughout the ages all faced discouragement (2 Corinthians 1:8-9); but authentic Believers have no need to surrender to discouragement. God give us glorious, indescribable joy (1 Peter 1:8).

A personal, intimate union with Christ provides us with the protection, guidance, comfort and strength of the Lord (1 Peter 5:10; John 3:16). As we submit to God's will, we realize that He is always in control (Ezekiel 38:4; Proverbs 21:1). Nothing, which occurs in our life, surprises Him, because He already planned an equitable solution for us (Romans 8:28). With God on our side, nothing will ever occur without His knowledge (Romans 8:31-32).

He is actually greater than the spiritual forces of darkness, which come against us (1 John 4:4). With Christ dwelling within us, our heart is no longer anxious or frightened (John 14:27). We can count it all joy when we face various trials and tribulation (James 1:2), because we see His hand working out everything to our advantage (Romans 8:28). The seeds of the ultimate miracle within our suffering and disappointment end up increasing our faith (Colossians 3:15).

Prayer:

Father God, our deepest sense of joy comes from a life surrendered to You (Hebrews 13:5). An optimistic unbeliever can radiate a positive attitude in negative circumstances, but they are still missing the joy and peace, which only You can provide (Philippians 4:7; Ephesians 3:19). We are a witness to a lost and dying world of Your protection and provision (John 16:33; Romans 8:28, 37). We gain strength in our weakest times from the presence of Your Holy Spirit within us (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). At the center of Your will, we find deep and lasting peace (Isaiah 26:3).

Thought for the Day:

Anyone, who is born of God and believes in His Son, has His faith dwelling within us, helping us to overcome the negative issues in the world. - 1 John 5:4-5