One of the first days I was in the hospital unable to move due to Guillain Barre Syndrome, a friend asked me, “Do you ever ask Why me? I cannot tell you why but I was in a weird way comforted and encouraged that the question had never entered my mind. Instead, I made the choice to have a mindset of “what do I and the people caring for me need to do for me to get better?”
This blog post came into focus from three very different places this week. First, a good friend talked about “why is it always about what I need, I deserve, I earned and entitled to instead of about what God has done in my life? The second was a brief devotional by John and Stasi Eldredge on “guarding your heart so you prevent negative thoughts from growing in this time of social distancing. Here is the link. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=214262996537588&external_log_id=d77d5d6df9a10b37ff6523ec739b195a&q=stasi%20eldredge Finally, while walking this morning I listened to a sermon, where the pastor challenged those listening, “how has Covid-19 shown you that your identity and security have been in the wrong places?” All three thoughts though different brought to mind the fact we all can choose how we will respond when faced with challenges.
Hasn’t it been a long week? Just a week ago, we celebrated Easter. We sang Hallelujah, He is Risen and found ourselves uplifted knowing we have Hope because God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. A week later, are you still living in Hope or have you gone back into a state of anxiety and discouragement? A week before Easter over 2000 years ago, everyone was shouting “Hosanna in the Highest”. A week later they were screaming “Crucify Him’. In one short week they went from praising Jesus and what He has done to wanting Him dead.
The point is how we choose to live and behave is our chose. Here are some examples of who how we can choose to live our life. Loving vs Hateful, Fearful vs Courageous, Greedy vs Generous, Anxious vs Peaceful, Selfish vs Servant-hearted, Helpful vs disagreeable, resentful vs grateful, bitter vs kindhearted.( *see verses below) Stasi Eldredge shared in the video seeds get planted in our hearts and unless we nourish them positively we can find ourselves succumbing to the attitude “it is all about me”, III, vs desiring to offer hope and light to others.
A year ago, I was in a Rehab Center excited that I had been given the green light to go home. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be there without being able to have visitors. Am I happy that I have been in self-isolation for more than 6 weeks now because of a compromised immune system? No. but I choose to be grateful that this irritation pales in comparison to what others and their loved ones are going through right now. You see, We all have a chose to live our lives out in certain ways. No one can force us to be one way or another. Revelation 3:20 reinforces that very thing. He knocks but it is up to us to answer and open the door. The answer will determine whether you will experience true peace knowing you are living the life God intended for you. One that as Galatians 5:22,23 says produces, ” the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Let’s all go out and encourage others to choose these.
*additional scripture verses. 1 John 4:19 “one who say I love God,” but hates his brother is a liar” “Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give!” – Proverbs 21:26.
Michael [email protected] www.thankfulinallthings.com