It is often that I write things challenging people to look inward...but today I want to challenge you to look outward. To look around you, not at your circumstances, but at your blessings. It can be so easy for us to get so caught up in our circumstances that we forget to look for the good in our lives....and we forget to look for God in our lives.
As I have stated in several posts now, this has been a trying year for me. Actually, not just a trying year, it has by far been the hardest year of my entire life. And as I say that, I can also say it is the year that I have grown the closest to God. That is not because of anything great that I have done, but it is because I have refused to only look at the bad that I have gone through this year. I have chosen to look for the goodness of God while I have walked out this terrible time in my life. James 1 is an amazing chapter to read when it comes to instruction on how we should face a trial in our life. The enemy wants us to get caught up in the circumstances, the details, the bad, the ugly....where God on the other hand wants us to look for the good, look for Him, look for His gifts, His favor, His love. It is there, but when you are facing a trial, you have to choose to look for it. No, I am not saying that you ignore the fact that you are in a trial, but yes I am saying you have to choose to not let the trial destroy you. In James 1:12-17 it talks about "blessed is the man who endures temptation"....and how "each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires"....and how "every good and perfect gift is from above". So you say "yeah, but I'm in a trial....I'm not being tempted, I'm being tried, I'm being hurt, I'm being broken". And to that I would say "yes, but as you walk through this trial you are being tempted to only see the bad...or to look for the good". Our human desire is to complain our way through it. Talk about all the bad stuff that we are going through, the hardship and even the pain. That is tempting....I know, because I was right there. Yes, I did find a few very close Christian friends that I could pour myself out to when I needed, but only people that I knew would help pick me up. People who would help me see God and His good in my life. But the other choice I made was when people would ask me how I was, I would make sure I pointed out the work that I saw God doing. I shared the blessings He was doing in my life and how He was drawing me near to Him. See, the temptation was to grown and complain my way through it...and most people would have totally understood that because they knew it was bad. But what I chose to do was look the enemy in the face and say "you may be controlling some circumstances in my life, but my hope rests in Jesus. My joy and my peace comes from Jesus...and you can't steal that from me because it is buried in my heart". That's how you beat the temptation. That's how you praise your way through the storm. That's how you make sure God gets the glory for the good....and you don't give the enemy the attention he wants. Yes, some days are harder than others, but that's how you live out James 1:22 and 'become doers of the word, not just hearers'. And when you are pointing all glory back to God...seeing, recognizing and speaking about His goodness, He will reward you for it!
The Psalms are full of verses to read to praise and honor God. If things are so hard that you can't muster up your own words(and I've had those days)....then just read through the Psalms and praise God that way. The one that you can choose to 'put on repeat' in your heart is Psalms 107:1 which says "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever".
Choose today to look past your circumstances and look for God's goodness. It is all around you and the enemy does not want you to see that.
God, thank You for you goodness....thank You for Your love....and thank You that it DOES endure forever! Help us to keep our hearts open to You no matter what our outside circumstances look like. Give us the strength and power in Jesus name to praise You through the storm and bring honor to Your name in the eyes of those that may be watching us walk through our trials. You are good, You are faithful...and the enemy is nothing but a lier. Help us put him in his place...and sing praises to Your name! In Jesus name, Amen.
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