I have nothing bad to say about my life, the world, or anything!
I have been given so much to be thankful for, how could I dare complain? I have nothing bad to say! I’m not talking about just being positive, I’m talking about being loved by God, and what else matters? God has loved me and held me through so many seasons of life that I have complete confidence in not only His existence, but His steadiness. He really won’t leave me!
My emotions are up and down at times, and I know there are times when He feels far away or quiet, but I’ve never not known, I mean deep in my uttermost ‘knower’, that He is there.
Recently a friend told me about a very well know preacher who admitted in his podcast that he struggles with believing in God. That hit me hard. I thought to myself, ‘have I ever struggled to believe in God?”. Nope. I can’t say that I have. Struggled to believe God is paying attention to me? Sure. Struggled to feel His presence? Ya, sometimes. Struggled to hear His voice? Often. None-the-less, the belief, the knowing that He is real- never.
OH, The many seasons
When survey my 50 years it truly feels like I have lived several lives. The seasons of my life don’t feel like chapters in a book. More like a TV series where the episodes are all over the place and not in a timeline. Like how season one is featuring a certain character and a certain place and then season two is completely different, like it didn’t even build on the first one. And you think to yourself, “where is this even going?” You have faith though, that somehow the writer will bring it full circle and explain some things in future episodes… do you know what I am talking about?
Some people call that “optimism”. But for me, there is historical evidence to support this. I’ve been in seasons of life where I felt like the weight was so heavy and I had no idea how I would survive, but I did. And not only that, but I forget that season even happened sometimes. There are some trials of life that feel like ‘this will never end’, or, ‘I will never get over this’. But you do. Season’s change. And when you have some experiences like that under your belt, you can take a deep breath and Thank God for the air you breathe, the roof over your head, the food you are eating, and the peace of knowing- it’s just a season.
“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
How could I complain?
Whenever my mind wanders to places of sadness in my circumstances or fears of the unknown, this hope and promise in His Word overrides my carnality. In light of all He has done for me, how could I complain? What could I say? Should I, like Jonah, mourn the lack of shade instead of trusting God’s plan? What good does it do to think about, meditate on or give my attention to negative things that have happened, are happening, or I fear will happen? Has that ever helped me? No, of course not, you know that. It takes me into places of sickness and assumptions that only feed the work of the enemy in my life. Also- it’s not the truth! If the truth sets me free, then meditating on lies chains me like a prisoner to despair and sickness in soul (and body I could argue, maybe in another blog post…).
You know that death and life are in the power of the tongue, but in your mind- your every thought- is an even greater power.
“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. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
The Price of Peace
See it is not about optimism or some positive thinking mumbo jumbo new age teaching. The price of peace is the cost of setting your mind on things above. Why worry? Has that ever added a day to your life? It most assuredly has taken time = life away from you. I am at an age where every moment counts. I feel the moments of life slipping away. The time is so precious, I don’t want to give it away to anything that doesn’t bring me life, peace, or joy.
I want to leave you with this. May this meditation bring you life and peace today. Amen.
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life”
SUGGESTED RESOURCE
Every year I re-read “The Way of the Heart”, by Henry Nouwen. This book is very short and simple, but oh so rich. A long forgotten discipline of the spiritual ones, something to consider in such a loud and busy world.
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See my resources page for more book suggestions to help you dive deeper into your relationship with God.