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A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. Proverbs 15:13
Christian author and speaker Charles Swindoll states, “I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” Each of us chooses how we will react to life and all that comes with it.
When people encounter trials in life they may try to blame someone, an ex-spouse who cheated on them and left them for some other, younger prize, a boss that refused to trust them, abusive or non-existent parents, a tough childhood.
Other people blame God. “If God is a God of love and justice why did this happen? If He is so powerful why can’t He change this situation I’m in? He must not love me or He’s angry at me, or He’s too weak or too uninterested to act.”
Still other people blame themselves. “I’m no good. I’m a loser, I will never amount to anything.”
The problem with these kinds of attitudes is that they don’t only affect the person harboring these destructive thoughts, they affect everyone around them. Everyday people wake up and make a decision (consciously or unconsciously) about the day they will have. Chances are, the decision they make will come true. If today is going to be sunny and warm with flowers all around and birds chirping, then that is probably the way the day will go.
If they decide the day will be cold and stormy with frequent flashes of lightning and hail, then you’d best hope you aren’t in the path of the storm.
Just as a negative attitude is contagious, so is a positive one. But positive attitudes that will bring change to your world have to have a solid base. ‘Happy all the time’ emotions are shallow and flaky. People will see through them right away. But a heart that is at peace in all circumstances brings calm to a situation and can even bring joy.
Positive attitudes are a choice each of us must make. Real happiness is a choice we make based on our faith belief that God is bigger than any problem that comes our way. Positive attitudes based solely on human emotion are sure to fail because they are based on human strength which will never stand during the storms of life.
As you go about your day today, chances are you will run into crabby people along the way. Hopefully you aren’t one of them! Choose from the moment you get out of bed that today will be a good day. Show it to the crabby lady behind the convenience store counter with a kind word and a smile (no matter how bad her service is).
Show kindness to the sarcastic and demeaning policeman as he pulls you over for speeding, causing you to be late for work.
Show humility to your boss when you try to explain why you are late…again.
Show patience by not kicking the dog when you get home because it’s been one of those days!
The happiness you show others will brighten their day as well as yours, plus it brings glory to God. Don’t let your reactions to others be based on the fickle, shifting sands of human emotion. How you react to them will either make their day better or worse and it’s all under your control.
PRAYER: Father I ask that you would help me to be a source of happiness and joy to each person who crosses my path today. May my life shine in such a way that Your name is glorified and the pain of others is lessened just because they crossed my path. I pray these things in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, amen.
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 (NLT)
Because I believe in the God of Genesis and believe that everything He makes is good,
I am resolved to have a good day.
Because I believe that nothing, absolutely nothing that happens today has not passed through the screening of His perfect will,
I am resolved to have a good day.
Today, if I am misunderstood, I know that my Heavenly Father knows the truth about me and my motives. Therefore,
I am resolved to have a good day.
Today, if I suffer from the consequences of my own poor choices I know that I will not walk alone because even then His hand of love and compassion. Therefore,
I am resolved to have a good day.
Today, if I suffer from the abusive hand of evil people, I know that my Father will comfort me and heal me with the healing salve of his love. Therefore,
I am resolved to have a good day.
Today, if I rebel and find myself in a situation I never thought I’d be in I know I can confess my sin to Him and will be forgiven. Therefore,
I am resolved to have a good day.
Today, if I am harassed because of my beliefs or mocked for my stand for Jesus, I will be comforted by the fact that Jesus Himself was also mistreated. Therefore,
I am resolved to have a good day.
I may not always agree with the things that come my way. My prayers will not always be answered in the way I hoped. Tragedy will come. Pain will happen. I will be rejected by my friends. I will lose loved ones. But because my faith rests in the God of Genesis, the creator/sustainer of the universe, who loves me beyond measure,
I am resolved to have a good day.
PRAYER: Father God, I don’t know what is ahead for me today. I may suffer loss, or victory. I may suffer pain or experience healing. I may be afraid or courageous. Whatever comes my way I ask that you would empower me to live my life in the realization that nothing can happen to me unless your loving hand allows it. I may not agree or understand but I trust you. Therefore I am resolved that since you made this day, it will be a good day. Amen.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 2 Corinthians 9:12
“The best way to get people to praise God is to bless them. Even works with your enemies!” These were the words of a friend of mine I’ll call Ben. Ben had a casual friend we’ll call Steve several years earlier. This ‘friend’ and Ben had a falling out and, unfortunately, even though both parties were Christ-followers, the relationship was never the same. One day, shortly after the falling out, Ben received some unexpected money.
“I went to bed that night wondering how to spend the money,” Ben told me. “It wasn’t a large amount, but I wanted to spend it wisely. The Lord brought one name to my mind over and over again,” Ben smiled as he told the story. “I just couldn’t get Steve out of mind. I knew he needed some work done on his car. I also knew that if I tried to give him any money it would be rejected or misunderstood. So, I decided to send him an anonymous letter in the mail with the cash I knew would repair his car.”
Ben went on to tell how, several days later Steve was praising God to everyone he saw because of how the Lord had blessed him. “I wanted to come forward so bad!” Ben still smiled to tell the story, “but we were both blessed by the gift and that’s the important thing.”
How do you get people to praise God? By blessing them! It may not be money. It may be shoveling their sidewalk after a snowstorm, or mowing their grass while they are on vacation, or throwing out the guidelines on tipping at the restaurant (even if the service is terrible!).
It’s not always easy to bless someone else with our service. We can be abused or taken advantage of, misunderstood or criticized. It’s especially hard when the ones God calls us to serve are our ‘enemies’ or hate us. During the times when serving others is hard remember that our service to other people is really service to God.
Serving others is a three-fold blessing. We are blessed in our giving, those we serve are blessed by our service and God is blessed by their praise! When you get the opportunity to serve others, remember that your service never affects just one person. Our Heavenly Father loves to hear the praise of His people and serving others always leads to our Father being praised as well.
PRAYER: Awesome Heavenly Father. You have blessed me in so many ways. I have life. I have Jesus. I have the promise of eternity with You. Empower me by your Holy Spirit to reach out to those around me and bless them so that they in turn will give you the praise you so richly deserve. Help me remember that it isn’t my praise I seek but Yours. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 