And now, dear brothers
and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable,
and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are
excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you
learned and received from me--everything you heard from me and saw me doing.
Then the God of peace will be with you. (NLT) Philippians 4:8-9
He put a new
song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him. (NIV)
Psalm 40:3
We all have those times in our lives that really stink. Looking back on those awful days--and in the
midst of them--sometimes all we want to do is complain, cry, yell or maybe even
throw something. Ouch. In those times, we have to learn to lean hard on
God. When we do, he can bring us great
comfort. Not only that, but he can give
us perspective.
God has taught me to pray this at the beginning of the day, “No
matter what this day brings, Lord, please open my eyes to see the good in it.”
Lysa TerKeurst, in her devotion “When God Isn't Answering Our Prayers” says:
“In the midst of what you’re facing, find simple things for which to praise
God. I don’t mean thank Him for the hard stuff. I mean thank Him for the other
simple, good things still in the midst. A child’s laugh. A bush that blooms.
The warmth of a blanket. The gift of this breath and then the next. Psalm 40:3
reminds me God will give me a new song when I make praise the habit of my heart
and mouth.”
God has also taught me to take my morning prayer a step
further. I ask him to also open my heart
to BE the good in the day ahead. This way, instead of resigning myself to being
a recipient of the bad, I try instead to be a giver of good. I say this prayer
hoping that God will show me how I can be a blessing...even if it's just a
small gesture or a few kind words. The
thought of possibly making someone else's awful day a little brighter lightens
my heart.
PRAYER: Gracious
Heavenly Father, forgive us for losing our cool when our days are awful. Open our eyes to see things the way you do;
and open our hearts to love the way you do.
e need your grace to do this, because sometimes looking beyond all the
awfulness around us is so very hard to do. And thank you so much for the peace you bring us when we finally learn
to trust in you. Amen.
Sharon Irvin
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