I will never understand why God chose to do things the way He did. However, I learned that only pain and isolation come from blaming God and oneself. So, from now on I choose to seek God, rather than seek blame. I choose to trust God knows more than I can see or understand.
Sometimes, God’s ways don’t make sense to us. The Bible teaches us to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and the last will be first and the first last. Have you ever thought, “But this seems backward?”
So, how do we know when to be silent or speak? I believe the answer is to pause. Pausing keeps us from rushing in with a reprimand and enables us to be helpful rather than hurtful. It allows us to choose our words carefully and reveal God’s truth.
When someone is in love, people say, “You are glowing!” Perhaps this is because feeling loved warms our souls and illuminates our whole being. However, this doesn’t only apply to romantic love. Knowing we are loved changes us. We perceive ourselves differently, act differently, react differently, and love differently.
“Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.” Proverbs 19:2 (ESV) Today, I watched a car swerving in and out of traffic, cutting people off, and wondered if hurrying to save 5…
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15 (NIV) Getting a family, especially one with young children, fed, dressed, ready, and out the door on…
Having a restless soul means being ill at ease with yourself or your current situation. Restlessness can be the result of having too much of something, like your mundane life. You are looking for an escape or to ease discomfort. Restless people can’t sit still or relax. They feel bored, anxious, or uncomfortable. That’s exactly how I felt. I’m sure you’ve felt the same way at times too. Perhaps you could complete this sentence yourself: I would be happier if ______.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) What do we say to comfort…
Wisdom is a treasure greater than human impulse, intelligence, or information. So, not only is it okay to ask God for help, He encourages us to seek His wisdom. Seeking wisdom means searching for God’s perspective. Once we’ve found it, we can apply His directions to our lives.
A skewed perspective can also make our problems seem worse than they are. A pebble appears huge when viewed up close. But when viewed from a distance, it looks small. Similarly, while we perceive our difficulties as insurmountable boulders, even mountains, God sees them as mere pebbles on our path. God even tells us “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.’ declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8, NIV)
Perspective can cloud our judgment about people and make our problems seem worse. But we can seek a Godly perspective about people, places, and problems in life.
