In life
sometimes there are things we just shouldn’t budge on when it comes to living
in peace with God and others.
Do you
agree? If so, what kind of things do you
put your foot down on when it comes to maintaining your relationships?
For me, I am
very cautious as to what I view or listen to on the radio, internet or anywhere
for that matter.Oh, and there’s another
thing.I make it a point, no …a habit … not to engage in conversations with
people that bring me down.
Why do you
think that I’m so particular about who I converse with daily?I’ll tell you why, because it can sway my
mood and cause me to doubt my faith in the promises of God!If I allow those exchanges into my thought life,
my environment changes drastically causing me to become what I don’t want to be
the very type of person I avoid – a joy sucker!
I’ve had
people try to discourage me in walking out what I feel I’m called to do by
God. I’ve been told “you’ll never ….” more times than I care to
mention, but it hasn’t stopped me. In fact, most of the time it has
made me more determined to keep going, because I know God has better plans yet
to be manifested in my life.
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a
future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV)
Maybe you’ve
experienced the same thing with people constantly discouraging you from stepping
out in faith.I have to be frank.Surrounding yourself with people who believe
in the call on your life is vital.
Let’s face it,
if God’s favor will surround those who trust in Him like a shield as it says in
Psalm 5:12, doesn’t it make sense to protect that environment?Of course, it does and how do you do that?
“For You, O Lord, will bless the Righteous; with
favor You will surround (compass) him as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12
NKJV)
When you are
around people who stimulate your faith, nothing will stop you from reaching
your goals. They understand delays, set-backs and underwhelming
results when the devil is trying to stop you from moving forward.More important, they won’t tell you to quit when
things get difficult.
Don’t let negative
people in your environment turn off your future with their poison by allowing
your emotions to be fed by bad things. Learn to recognize that the enemy
satan will use people, things and situations to get you to cave in through every
opportunity he can set against you.
In the past I’ve
asked people this question. What things put you in a good
mood? In other words what kinds of things do they engage in to alter
their mood by changing their surroundings?Most couldn’t give me an answer and didn’t realize they could easily change
it.
That’s
right!You have the power to change your
surroundings with the things you let into your life.You “create” how your life will actually be
through your decisions. Whether it is
through seeing, listening or action; junk poured in – junk flows out.God thinking in – good living experienced!
Look at what the bible says about creating the environment
we are to fashion our life after as a believer in Christ:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever
things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever
things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever
things are of good report, if there is any virtue and
if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
(Philippians 4:8 NKJV)
I like how the Message bible puts it in this passage.
“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by
filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic,
compelling, gracious — the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly;
things to praise, not things to curse.
Put into practice what you learned from me, what you
heard and saw and realized. Do that, and
God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent
harmonies.” (MSG)
Isn’t life
hard enough with all the negativity that’s going on in the world right now? Stop focusing on things that aren’t worth giving
them attention.
It’s time for
you to make a change! Create the
environment you want in your life with things that stimulate a healthy
mood and attitude. Stop limiting God with your thinking and choose
to believe you were made for more than this.
Get out of
that negative environment and wrong thinking mentality that will stop you from
being all God wants you to be. There is more to you than you think,
believe it.
Create the
life God intended for you to live by, “edifying and building yourselves up on
your most Holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” (Jude 1:20 NKJV)
God’s favor is
a spiritual promise to those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ. By faith we receive His promises and His favor
when we are in “right” (righteous) standing with Him.
Believing lies
and dwelling in negativity squashes blessings and favor from manifesting on our
behalf.Faith and unbelief cannot share
the same space - “environment”; one wins out over the other every time!
Remember, you
can receive a million favors from others and achieve nothing, whereas, it can
take only ONE act of favor from God to change everything in your life! Right now, commit to making the move to get
out of that negative environment (or mindset mood), and create an environment
where His favor can be given by faith.
“Through Him also (believing in Jesus Christ) we have (our) access (entrance, introduction) by
faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we (firmly and safely) stand….” (see Romans
4:18-21, 24, 5:2, AMPC)
Believe that
the promises of God are for you here and now!
Until next time, create an environment to receive God’s
favor!
“I’m
always in the mood to give favor.” Jesus
Christ
Note: The words satan or devil are not capitalized
deliberately, because we give him no place in our lives.
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used
as treatment for mental or physical issues, but geared toward spiritual
awareness.
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I know, but
would like to have this kind of favor in your life also. Click on
the above tab “Tell Me About Jesus” for more information on becoming a
child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy. Scripture reference was taken from the New King James
Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway. Image credit: Google Images Creative Common
License if not specified. Image: Image Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of
belief.
Labels: Inspiration, Living Beyond Your Feelings, Connecting to Favor, Mood Swings, Joyce Meyer, Environment for Favor, Attitude, Maintaining a Positive Mental Attitude, Emotions, Poisonous Minds, Mind Get in Line, Fay Ann Daniels,Favored1,Daily Favor Blog,
“I’m just in the mood”
is a phrase we are familiar with and understand that when someone says that it
means we need to back off asap. One
little word can be the difference between “I’m in the mood for an ice cream
sundae” or “I’m just in the mood to let you have it!”
By the time a person
reaches that “just” point it means their emotions are about to fly off the handle. Their mood is swinging all over the place.
It’s easy to let things
bother us, especially when you’re not feeling in the best of moods anyway.We can easily get offended by taking what
others say into our spirit.Sure it
would be great if on those particular days we could close ourselves in behind
huge castle walls, but that’s not really a solution … that is unless you happen
to live in one.
No, for the average
person we look to other things for picking ourselves up by the bootstraps to
move on in the day.That takes me back
to the time I was a senior in high school.
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the bottom of this week’s post.
It was custom that each
senior class did something to inspire the classes that were to follow, by
challenging them to step out of their comfort zone and believe in themselves.The elected members of the student council
came up with a project that would challenge us to take past events and turn
them into positive things in our future.
For our senior year, this
life changing event was really a two day community and school function that took place as a
fashion show. Through strategic planning the theme chosen was from the 50’s jazz
era to the present.
Our class vice president
was a young innovative girl named Anne, who wanted to depict women as
successful, bold and forceful.The song “In
the Mood” by the Andrew’s sisters was chosen because of the lyrics that asked
us to see things in a different light through uplifting activities.
Using the same music, the
planning team changed the lyrics to fit our generation. Even though the song
was talking about relationships (dancing and music), there were several lines they selected as
encouragers to force the point into the ears of our audiences.
Phrases like, “steppin-out” of your comfort zone, “building-up”
one another.“Be alive, and get the jive.
You’ve got to learn how.”
Along with a few more …
“You can see the wonders that this evenin’ has done …
You were only hungry for some musical food,
Now you’re positively, absolutely in the mood" for
success.
Although I was a singer,
I wasn’t selected to participate in the vocals.At that time I was part of our family singing group and we traveled on
the weekends, and practiced on weeknights.Instead, I was roped into being a runway model … something way outside
of my area and certainly not what I thought I could do.
The day of the event
arrived and I was nervous to the point of almost being sick.None of my family or friends came, however one
person showed up who believed in me.
He wasn’t even my boyfriend yet, but that person would become my future husband you affectionately know as “Hubby”.
This was big time with
companies who sponsored the event coming to critique our performance. The first time I did the designer’s
strut, I practically fell from worry and anxiety, but by the closing show I
walked out on that platform with confidence.My mood changed from negative to positive thinking.
That one experience
fashioned the way I looked at my life, so what my classmates had in mind
worked, at least for me.Little did I
know that experience would be groundwork to put me “in the emotional mood” for
future speaking conferences.All that
negative energy was turned into positive and I enjoyed the experience
regardless of who came to witness my success.
Energy Thieves
Worry and frustration
are things that tend to put us in a defensive mood quickly.If we wake up in a “mood” that is already
unsettling, we can be sure that the rest of the day will follow that pattern if
we don’t get our emotions in check right from the start.
Allowing negative types
of emotions to enter our spirit will prevent us from receiving the best God has
for us.If we spend time on the negative
it takes away from our energy and weighs us down, stopping joy from manifesting
in our activities.
How much energy do you
want to have sucked out of your day?I
don’t know about you, but I don’t have tons of energy to spare, so wasting it
on things that don’t matter isn’t really something I want to do.
When we allow emotions
to rule over our lives, it drains or literally steals from us physically.Our families suffer, our performance at work
is compromised and the Christian testimony is ineffective.
There will always be
something that will try to keep believers offended, stressed, discouraged or
frustrated. The dark cloud seems to follow some around all the time, because
they let the things other people do or say filter into their system.
I agree we cannot
prevent people from saying things about us that may get under our skin, but we
can stop those things from becoming a part of our thinking.
Pastor Kenneth E. Hagin used the phrase, “You can’t stop birds from flying over your
head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair.”
Stop letting the birds
build their nest on your head; in other words, don’t let what others are saying
or doing settle into your thinking negative thoughts about your future.Learn to guard your heart with the Word of
God.
Guarding Your Heart
Proverbs 4:23 in the New
Living Translation of the Bible says, “… guard your heart.” As Bible believers
we are to be selective in what we give our time and thoughts to when it comes
to what we allow to dwell in our thinking.If we spend time on things that don’t really matter, we won’t have any brain
space left for the things that do matter.
The New King James
version says it like this: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs
the issues of life.”
What are the issues of
life? The issues of life takes in everything that falls on your plate
concerning the world, your life and what's going on around you.
God has promised a good
future for us, but if we focus on the poison words of others, our dreams will
never come to fruition. We can’t pump toxic
words and thoughts into our system and expect to live a faith filled positive
life.It doesn’t mean we are supposed to
ignore things, but that we are to trust God with the details.
Part of the problem is
that we want to “know all the details” when it comes to what people are saying
about us.There isn’t a day that goes by
that I don’t see something negative posted on the internet about a person,
because the second party is airing their dispute in public for all to see.I remember listening to a famous evangelist
say that he never reads what people are saying about him (good or bad), because
it can affect how he presents the gospel.We all could take that advice.
Instead of feeding the
fire when it comes to having our emotions on the defensive all the time, we are
to be disciplined in where we let our feelings take us. We have the choice not
to let the world dictate our emotions.
Fashion Your Victory
When it comes to success
in anything people forget those who have lost the battle. All the focus is on
the winners. No one cares about the person in last place.The more favor that is on a person’s life the
more criticism will come against them.People will find fault with almost everything because they want what God
has given the “other” person. They never
stop to see why God’s hand was on the winner or what they had to go through
that fashioned their victory.
The Bible gives us
plenty of examples of those who walked in the favor of God and those who were
envious of them.The individuals who didn’t
have the Lord’s blessings became very
nasty, and did whatever they could to destroy the favored of God through their
behavior or negative words.Jesus’ life
is the best example of that.
Those who honor God and
follow His guidebook will always walk in the Lord’s favor.There will be people who will hate you
because of the favor on your life and we can’t stop them from feeling the way
they do.Not everyone will be happy
because of what God is doing in your life.Don’t waste your life on those people trying to win them over; it’s not
going to happen.
The blessing of God in
your life will bring controversy.Some
will be happy for you while others will find ways to take you down.They will belittle you, talk trash and bring
out all your faults, but don’t let that affect your mood.
Retain Power
I have spent the
majority of my life thinking on the positive things like it tells us in the
Bible.However, there are times when I
have done the opposite.Jesus didn’t
tell us to think on your problems, dwell on those who hate you and give
attention to those who will never like you.
God has given us wisdom,
knowledge and understanding to change some things, but we’re not always going
to be able to change everything.This is
where we have to act on what we say we believe by really trusting in God to
turn the situation around.In doing so
we will learn to live the peace of God in all circumstances.
Part of the ingredients
in making a bad situation grow into something bigger is when we spend all our
waking hours trying to find a solution.We feel we need to do something about it right away and by doing that we
don’t give God time to work in the matter.
Don’t give people the
power to offend you by reacting to every sentence that comes out of their
mouths.It is when we emotionally give
offense the permission to infiltrate our thoughts that the Word of God becomes
fruitless, and blessings cease to exist.It is a choice to maintain a good attitude and mood.When we give in to offense, we give away our
power.
Think of it like this, if
the favor of God wasn’t on your life people would leave you alone.God has a great destiny for you, so don’t
stop your own blessings from coming because you’re allowing the wrong things to
change your mood and outlook on life.
Walking in the favor of
God isn’t about you, but about what God has preordained in your life for His
plan to be established.When we
understand that we are supposed to be blessed as children of God, we would
learn to disregard what others thought about us and would only be concerned
with what God says.
God has something spectacular
planned for your life that is still locked up inside you. It will take all the
favor of God on your life to walk out that destiny, so it is our responsibility
to block out those things that will prevent the best to come into our lives.
Stay in the Faith Mood
You may have some really
bad things that happened in your life and think that there isn’t a successful future
in store for you.That’s not true. God
knows all that you have experienced and promises to use what the devil wanted
to harm you with and turn your mess into a message He can use.Nothing you are experiencing will stop your
destiny from happening if you stay in faith.
God didn’t create you to
live a life defeated.Your something is
coming, but you have to stay in the mood emotionally for the blessing of God to
be manifested.God sees what you don’t.
He knows the greatness He has put in you.
“… the race is not to the swift, nor the battle
to the strong, nor the bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding,
nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.” (Ecclesiastes
9:11 NKJV)
King Solomon learned
through his time with God that, “Time and chance come together for every
person.”That means God is going to
send people into our life that will give us favor even when they don’t know why
they’re doing it.Situations and
circumstances will change if we stay in faith and believe good things are
coming.
The spirit has to come into
agreement with the Word of God for favor to be given.
God has amazing things
planned for your life, but even though He has them planned you can turn off the
favor by the negative mood, thoughts and words that are making a nest in your
hair (your mind).
The external world will affect
the internal person if we allow it.You
cannot hang around negative critical people and expect the favor of God to work
in your life.Surround yourself with
positive people and focus on joyful things that will stimulate a peaceful mood
in your life.
Create Your Environment
I make it a point not to
engage in conversations with people that bring me down.I’ve had people try to discourage me in
walking out what I feel I’m called to do by God.I’ve been told “you’ll never ….” more times
than I care to mention, but it hasn’t stopped me.In fact, most of the time it has made me more
determined to keep going, because I know God has better plans yet to be
manifested in my life.
Surrounding yourself
with people who believe in the call on your life is vital. When you are around
people who stimulate your faith, nothing will stop you from reaching your
goals.Don’t let people turn off your
future with their poison by allowing your emotions to be fed by bad
things.
For the past few weeks
my husband and I have been asking people this question. What things put you in a good mood? In other words what kinds of things do they engage in to alter their mood by changing their surroundings?
Create the environment
you want in your life with things that stimulate a healthy mood and attitude.Stop limiting God
with your thinking and choose to believe you were made for more than this.
Get out of that negative environment and
wrong thinking mentality that will stop you from being all God wants you to be.There is more to you than you think, believe
it.One act of favor from God can change
everything in your life.
Maintain your life with
God by, “edifying
and building yourselves up on your most Holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”
(Jude 1:20 NKJV)
This Week’s Challenge:
Create A PMA
In terms we can all
understand, we're going to re-create our environment to release our destiny.
PMA is my new phrase otherwise known as “positive
mood attitude,” while my husband has his own version and calls it a “mood-a-tude”
change.
Several weeks ago I
asked my husband what he does to put himself in a good mood.He had this cheeky grin on his face and said,
“I look in the mirror!”Then he calmed down and said, “I don’t know,
what do you do?”
Right then I began
listing a ton of things that help lift me out of a negative mood.All sorts of things make me smile like giving
flowers to strangers, and taking pizza to businesses or doctor’s offices. It makes
them freak out, but puts me in a good mood.As soon as I dwell on those things it brightens my day.
With him not being able
to give me a slew of things off the top of his head, it made me wonder if others
were having the same difficulties when it came to encouraging themselves.Thus my need to find out began with us becoming
reporters on the street.
Geek on the street
interviews by Hubby (him being the geek – his “negative” words, not mine.).He asked: “If
you’re having a bad day, what do you do to try to get yourself out of a bad
mood?”
Here are a few of the answers he received that you may consider.
Pray/read the Bible.
Take a walk, jog, go to the park.
Talk it out with a
co-worker to help her.
Think about her kids.
Remind myself of where I
was in life and where I am now.
Call mom, because she
always knows what to say.
Create a PMA – a positive
mental attitude by thinking about spiritual things.
Listen to music, sing or read.
Put praise music on and
dance with Jesus.
Spend time with pet(s).
Drinks an energy drink
to overcome emotions – one I wouldn’t recommend, but someone said they do it.
I was surprised but pleased no one mentioned food or shopping.
Here's the Task
This week we are
challenged to create our own PMA – positive mood attitude plan.Wait, there's more.
Forget those sad story songs
that play on your emotions and put on uplifting music that will exhilarate your
spirit.
Post scriptures that
motivate you and alter your mood, throughout your home.Anyone that has ever been in my house knows I
have verses posted everywhere, even in the bathroom.
Recognizing when you’re
about to be “just in the mood” will change how you respond to people when you
realize God’s favor is at stake in your life.
In the comments section below, share what you do to maintain a good PMA (positive mood attitude).
The second part to the
challenge is to ask this question to everyone you come in contact with this
week.
“What do you do to improve your
mood?”
You’ll be surprised as to how
many people turn red when you ask them.
Following through with
the assignment my husband came to a new level in his understanding what mood
can do to your day.When he saw a miniature
rose bush in the store he stood there and stared at it.He found himself smiling and his mood changed
in a second.It really changed when he
presented it to me by surprise!
Don’t live a life of
regret because you let people talk you out of your destiny. It’s still inside
of you.Get in agreement with God and
thank Him that your dream will come to pass.Stay in the right frame of mind and believe Jesus over all others or
negative circumstances.
Declare the
favor of God is upon you and that you will become everything God has created
you to be.
“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.” (Philippians
4:8 NLT)
Thinking on these things will help you to maintain your new PMA.
Maybe you
don’t know the Living God that I know, but would like to have this kind of
favor in your life also.Click on the
above tab “Tell Me” for more
information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content
and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Scripture
reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Gateway Bible
“I just had the most wonderful day. Everything
seemed to go right.It was great, every
minute of it.” Wouldn’t we all like to have days or even a day like that instead of feeling a bit frazzled?Someone did, and they shared it on Facebook
this week. It was refreshing to read.
This
person had been through several years of rough road, and that day was like a
cool breeze from God giving him some relief.Everyone that read the post was so happy for that person, understanding
where he was at this point in his life journey.
Early
on in the week I surely needed a day like that, you know the kind where you
need a break from things and hope for a peaceful day.There’s a woman I counsel that each time she
comes, her life is in such turmoil that anyone who is near her needs a time out
so that they don’t get angry. She is continually asking God for peace in her
life, but seems to be the one that steals it from others.
Roughing it Out
Do
you have people like that in your life?You know what I mean … the ones that bring storms with them all the
time?I have a term for those types of personalities
called, “sandpaper people.”
There
are several kinds of these individuals or should I say, “levels” instead.Just like there are different grades of
sandpaper, there are levels to these personalities.They range from smooth to really rough and
abrasive.If we had to be around
sandpaper people I would venture to say that we would all prefer the easier
grade, right?But that’s not how it
works.
God
sends (allows) people in our lives that will ruffle our feathers as a test of our
faith and integrity as believers in Christ.He uses “sandpaper” personalities to refine us in becoming better
servants and leaders for the Kingdom of God.
Believe it or not, if you don’t have anyone in your life that rubs you the wrong way, then either
you aren’t being molded for greater things or you are the sandpaper. At times, you can even be both!
Life
as a Christian isn’t supposed to be a bed of roses and easy going all the
time.We should expect good and even
great days, but as long as we are here on earth there will be trials that try
to form against us. Knowing who you are in Christ Jesus takes care of the sandpaper people.
“No
weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that rises
against you in judgment you will condemn.This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their
righteousness is of Me,” says the LORD. (Isaiah 54:17 NKJV)
Thankfully,
we have a weapon in the Word of God to shield us from the work of satan. God
has promised us victory over circumstances, but who needs a victory if there
isn’t a battle? So, come on sandpaper, take your best shot!
“These
things I (Jesus) have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.In the world you will have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NKJV)
Jesus
told us that in this world we will have tribulation (all sorts of sandpaper
people) coming against us.He went on to
give us good news, “but be of good cheer I have overcome the world.”Whenever you read the word “but” in the Bible
it is a term that cancels out or changes what you previously read. In knowing this, we should be looking for the
“buts” in scripture, because something else is coming.
When the Sandpaper is At Work
This
week my husband had to meet with a county board over an upcoming event.His appointment was at 11 am, but the people
were late. While he was waiting all sorts of things went through his mind.The meeting was merely one of courtesy,
because everything we were doing was legal.It was out of respect for those in other positions of authority that we
wanted to follow protocol.
When he
called me to say that he would have to wait, I planted some unwanted seeds in
his head.He called me on it and I
responded, “Someone needs to stir the pot.”Then as soon as I hung up I asked God to give him the patience and
boldness he needed to speak with authority.
Within
the hour he returned home with a totally different countenance.He went on to share what took place and that
we were also granted the privilege of using the electric for free for the occasion.
So
who was the sandpaper or abrasive spirit?The person setting up the appointment in the first place, my husband, me
or the other gentlemen?We all had a
part in it.Some of us were lightly
sanding while others were heavy duty, attitude removal sandpaper people.All were needed I suppose, but not all were wanted or welcome visitors.
The
bad thing about sandpaper is that it can do some damage if not handled
properly. Harsh sandpaper personalities rub us the wrong way, and no one wants
their outer skin removed! Sometimes they don't even know they are getting to you, but they do because of how they handle a situation or it comes out in their tone of voice. Then there are others who know what they are doing and do it intentionally.
However,
the good points about this kind of attitude adjuster, is that it removes the tough
outer layer of our hardened heart, and refines the surface making it smooth for
us to receive correction. Picture it like this. After a board goes
through the sander, it comes out looking entirely different and new. When it is painted the
surface is something to be desired and ready to be used. The sanding process made it a better piece and more functional.
That's what the Lord wants to do with us. A little sanding here, maybe some extensive blasting at times and then the finishing polish. God gives us the grace to endure the sanding. There is a catch though. Unless we have had some refining we cannot live
or give what we don’t possess. Peace comes from obedience ... ours to God.
When Grace = Peace
Do
you remember the passage in scripture where the apostle Paul asked God to
remove the thorn from his life that caused him continual suffering, anguish and
pain?What did God say, “My grace is
sufficient for you.”He didn’t say, “OK
Paul, I know how much this hurts you so I’ll do what you say and let everything
come to you easily.”God told Paul, “No.”
“And He (Jesus) said to me (Paul), “My grace
is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in
my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9
NKJV)
What
exactly was the thorn that got in the way of Paul’s ministry and living a life
in continual peace?There has been much
debate over this one.Some believe it
was an actual health issue, while others say it was a certain “sandpaper” person
that continually caused problems for him wherever he went.
Abrasive
people will cause your true personality to surface.It’s where our humility is tested.
Was Paul asking God to remove the sandpaper
people from his life so he could get on with his work and living?Don’t we do the same thing?God’s grace however, allows us to keep going
even while we are being refined. If we let God work in our hearts, we will see His
power shine through and change the situation around us. He provides what we need, all we have to do is take it.
Last
week I expressed to someone something similar when she was being pushed to the
limits at her job. If God wanted to
elevate her into a position of authority, she had to learn to get along with
people without arguing or becoming offended.
This really takes God's grace for us to hold our tongues, but we have to in order to be effective Christians.
Believers in Christ are called to be leaders no matter what field it
may be. Leadership positions require us to swallow our pride, understand
abrasive behavior and channel it into another direction while remaining calm.
Anyone
can blow up when they get ticked off.Explosive behavior won’t win anyone to the Lord.If we truly want to be used by God, we need
to welcome the sandpaper personalities as a challenge, knowing that we are
about to receive something special from the Lord.
When
this lady explained the behavior of this person at work, I asked her if she
ever confronted the individual and questioned if she could do anything for
them.Perhaps she was going through
something and didn’t know how to handle it, and you might have a word of
comfort you could give.
Wouldn’t
you know I would have to walk out my own advice, when the very thing happened
to me at the check-out on Tuesday.
The cashier was in a really nasty mood. Although I don't usually spout off, I actually noticed my temperament starting to change. Instead of getting angry at the lady I asked her if she was all
right.Her attitude changed and she
explained the details of what she needed to get done before she could leave for
the evening. I’m glad I didn’t follow my
emotions and become the sandpaper in her day.
Even
if someone plum doesn’t like you, God can turn the situation around for your
good, if you let Him refine you by removing your rough edges.We need to have soft, compassionate hearts in
order to be effective as Christians. That doesn’t mean we are to be door mats,
but open to the situation so God can use it for His glory.Ask the Lord to reveal to you His truth so He
can work in your life and give you the grace to withstand the test.
This
week when you run into a situation where the sandpaper personalities start to
do their work on your emotions, recognize what it is.Let God work on the obstacles that come gift
wrapped in sandpaper, so that you come out with a blessing.
Now
don’t say this out loud, but think it when you see sandpaper people approaching:
“Hello
sandpaper. Let’s see, what part of me needs to be removed and refined?You may be here to do some damage, BUT,
(remember what it means) I’m coming out of this better and with a more
beautiful heart.
God’s grace and blessing
surround me. I live a life of daily favor and I’m going to have a really
great day!”
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that
I know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also.Click on the above tab “Tell Me” for more
information on becoming a child of the Savior.
