God Delights in Blessing Us

God blesses us all day long in so many ways; we are just too busy to notice. If we focus on our to-do list or the negative issues we are facing, we miss seeing the blessings.

God delights in blessing His children (Psalms 8:4-5, 139: 6-7, 17). He rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). When we ignore or do not appreciate what He does for us, we get disappointed and frustrated by what we wanted Him to do, and what we perceive that He failed to do.

God arranged our genes, gave us our parents, and had us born in the city and country that He chose in order to give us the personality and talents we have, so that we can use them for His purposes.

Self-improvement is our carnal attempt to perfect our self. God wants to lead us, and for us to take the back seat (Mark 8:34). As we focus on praising God in the midst of our short-comings, He will replace our imperfections with His Spirit's fruit.

As we yoke up with Jesus, we find rest in God's grace. His mercy allow us to submit to His Spirit's direction each and every moment of every day. His presence eliminates the emptiness, fear and depression in our soul.

We develop a friendliness with others. We share the gospel with anyone interested in hearing that God loves them and has a plan for their life. We love God and His Kingdom as our priority and then we love others as we love our self (Matthew 6:33; Mark 12:30-31).

Prayer:

Father God, You hold us securely in Your love. We have no fear of life's storms, because You are in control of them all. You bless us with Your contentment, joy and fulfillment even in the midst of negative circumstances. You calm the storms and cause the sun to burst through the clouds, illuminating our days with Your peace.

As You shed Your love in our hearts, teach us to love others as our self. Remind us to look for Your blessings all through our day and to share Your blessings with others as You give us the opportunity to bless them. Help us not to miss Your divine opportunities or to take Your divine provision for granted.

Thought for the Day:

God does not ask us to trust one another, because we are frail humans and hurt one another - often without realizing it; but He does expect us to trust Him to bless us in His timing, will and way.

Emotional and Mental Health-Freedom from Negative Emotions

Journaling is a lost art form and mental health tool. It takes many avenues of expression and can be a variety of sizes and styles. Whatever fits the personality and needs of the journalist.

This is a method of documenting the events in our life and dealing with pent up thoughts and emotions. When we do not express our thoughts in words to a mentor or on paper in a journal, they will erupt from our soul at inopportune times.

                             

Sit in a quiet place and journal all of your thoughts and feelings. In doing this, you are emptying yourself of yourself.

Do not talk, sing, pray, watch TV, listen to music or answer your phone...just listen to your soul - your thoughts and feelings - and wait on the Lord to come and fill you with His comforting Holy Spirit.

It may take hours...it may take days...it may take weeks or months as it took me to get to the root of the issues which plague our soul. This all depends on how much inner and outer clutter is in our life.

We cannot be discouraged if we are not successful when we start journaling. It takes time to develop a new habit. Just remember that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our life and our God is the God of second chances.

As we continue to journal each and every day, it will not take long to get to the root of the issues causing us unrest. Then we can follow the Serenity Principle and either deal with the issue(s) or place it in God's capable hands to resolve in His timing and way.

Once we finish with our journal and go about our day, we can stop what we are doing at the first sign of unrest in our soul or spirit- even if we just duck into the bathroom for a few minutes.

Taking time to pray allows God to reveal the source of these negative thoughts and emotions. Then, once God shows us the origin of our anxiety, anger or other negative emotion, we can repent or ask for God's help.

He may lead us to forgive, to change our focus about the situation or to serve the person, which is hurting us. It also helps to switch our focus to an eternal perspective and set boundaries around anything from this temporal world, which is causing us trouble.

Does our issue really matter in the overall scheme of eternity? If not, we can let it go and let God teach us to think like He does about the issue.

Prayer:

Father God, we ask You to give us Your wisdom to know what situations we can change, and which to leave in Your skillful hands. Give us the strength to deal with the issues that You reveal are our responsibility. Then help us to turn the rest over to You.

Help us to develop an attitude of acceptance about them. If we cannot change them, then we can praise You for them, in them, and through them, even for the negative things. By doing this, we end up walking in complete serenity and in the dynamic power of Your Holy Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

What is it in your life that is causing you a problem right now?  Can you do something about it? Then, do it! If not, then change your focus and give the problem to God.

Rejected, but Never Alone

 

Jesus knows how it feels to face rejection from those to whom He poured out His life. He identifies with us when we dedicate our entire life to our family, church family and friends; yet, they walk away from us.

These people do not always respond positively to our presence in their life. Even our closest family members may attempt to wound us with their words and actions to cause us to reject them.

That way they can perceive themselves as the martyr in the relationship.  If, however, we do not reject them, they eventually reject us and accuse us of abusing them.

They want a reason to reject us, so they claim that we are toxic in their life. They discard us and walk away from us. They may think of us from time to time. These memories may even be positive and draw their hearts toward us; but they resist the urge to mend broken fences.

Showering them with God's unconditional Agape love at each door that God opens for us will ensure that they know deep down inside that we are always here for them, regardless of how they treat us.

We may move on with our life and walk through other doors that God provides for us, but we are always sensitive to their needs and respond in love rather than rejection when they happen to reach out to us.

This may restore our relationship with them and increase our ability to live Christ's life in their presence, giving them yet further opportunities to surrender their life to our Savior and King.

However, they may never approach us again - viewing us as dead to them or estranged. During their life, they cut us out of the momentous times in which we could share.

They want nothing to do with us and our special moments. We are rejected, but God never leaves us alone (Hebrews 13:5). He provides His Saints as our family and focus; and His presence in us sustains us throughout our lifetime.

Prayer:

Father God, our relationship with You is our focus in this life and for all eternity. People, places and times here on earth are a vapor on a cold day. Here for a moment and then vanished. Even a mate, parent or child may reject us; but You never leave us alone (Hebrews 13:5). You are the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:7).

Christ is our very life (Colossians 3:4). We need no one and nothing apart from You. You give us all things to enjoy in Your timing and way. If we do not have it, we do not need it, or You would supply it for us. We trust in Your wisdom and goodness.

Thought for the Day:

God holds the key to our relationships, and He decides whom to allow into our life for His reasons and purpose; we can know for certain that He does everything for our ultimate good. - Romans 8:28