Ok, it's really not that bad. But even with the great snow, the wonderful place to live, life still wants to rob me of the joy that these things can bring. When I take a moment to think that I have an eternal home that awaits me, an incredible family (beautiful wife and girls), health, my father (83 this year...go dad), friends, employment, a wonderful place to live, etc., etc. I could be thanking God non-stop for each and everything that I have...and I do often, my family can attest to that, due to almost all of my prayers thanks God for something in my life.
But with all of this, there still is the nagging 'joy-robber' that enters my day, due to life circumstances. But I'm learning that life=circumstances. You can't avoid circumstances unless you avoid life and life has too many offerings of joy to live as a hermit. So this lives me with the issue of how to deal with this life.
God has made it clear that seeking Him first and the rest will follow and this is where the rubber meets the road for my faith. Because what this means is that regardless of the circumstances, God is in control. My faith doesn't always support this, because if it did, I wouldn't be having my joy robbed of me.
We tell our girls on occasion that a circumstance will be ok, you just have to trust us. This isn't any different than what God tells us. I know when I tell the girls to trust me in something that they should actually let go of their worries and go on with their day as if everything will be ok.
So when God tells me the exact same thing, why should I get an exempt card? Because "my circumstances" are so different that I can worry about something? No.
In a nut-shell, I should experience the feelings of the circumstance (God gave us feelings to experience life), but trust that things will work out. This doesn't mean that they will work out the way that I want them too, but that God can create purpose in everything that I go through.
In the new testament, John the Baptist & Paul were be-headed for their faith, Peter hung, the list goes on. I wouldn't say that this would be the high-light of my day if this happened to me, but they knew that this earth was not their home and these circumstances didn't rob them of their joy, because they knew that they could trust God.
So with the small circumstances that enter my life I can trust my heavenly Father that everything will be ok.
But with all of this, there still is the nagging 'joy-robber' that enters my day, due to life circumstances. But I'm learning that life=circumstances. You can't avoid circumstances unless you avoid life and life has too many offerings of joy to live as a hermit. So this lives me with the issue of how to deal with this life.
God has made it clear that seeking Him first and the rest will follow and this is where the rubber meets the road for my faith. Because what this means is that regardless of the circumstances, God is in control. My faith doesn't always support this, because if it did, I wouldn't be having my joy robbed of me.
We tell our girls on occasion that a circumstance will be ok, you just have to trust us. This isn't any different than what God tells us. I know when I tell the girls to trust me in something that they should actually let go of their worries and go on with their day as if everything will be ok.
So when God tells me the exact same thing, why should I get an exempt card? Because "my circumstances" are so different that I can worry about something? No.
In a nut-shell, I should experience the feelings of the circumstance (God gave us feelings to experience life), but trust that things will work out. This doesn't mean that they will work out the way that I want them too, but that God can create purpose in everything that I go through.
In the new testament, John the Baptist & Paul were be-headed for their faith, Peter hung, the list goes on. I wouldn't say that this would be the high-light of my day if this happened to me, but they knew that this earth was not their home and these circumstances didn't rob them of their joy, because they knew that they could trust God.
So with the small circumstances that enter my life I can trust my heavenly Father that everything will be ok.
Comments