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I believe greatly that it is within our ability to see each new day that we are blessed enough to have with optimism, hope, joy and gladness. How? It is done by having a proper perspective. It is easy for anyone to murmur and complain about their own hardships when that is all they focus on, but when they change their perspective and look at the blessings that surround them then they will be more inclined to see the good in their life and be thankful for it. Always remember and keep in mind that what we focus on is what we will draw back to ourselves. If we look at our great abundance and be thankful for it, we will draw back to ourselves gratefulness, appreciation, gladness and joy. The opposite is also true. If we only focus on our trials and tribulations, we will draw back to ourselves worry, fear and uncertainty and in turn we will want to murmur and complain against God for all of our troubles. Why should we put ourselves through this misery? Why not choose to see the good, focus on our blessings and give God thanks for His provision and sustenance instead? (Deuteronomy 30:19-20) (Philippians 2:13-15)
Always remember that you have a choice; you can focus on the good or focus on the bad. You can count your blessings or count your troubles. You can give God thanks or you can give God your complaints. I challenge everyone to bless their own life by blessing God for His goodness. When we recognize how fortunate we are we will be a people of praise and not complaint. We will always see the good, we will focus on what we still possess and we will be thankful that our present circumstances will not always be our lasting circumstances. The good thing about God is that He will meet us at the point of our faith. The moment we start believing for better is the moment we will start seeing the better. God is faithful to those who believe His word and will reward their faithfulness in the same manner. I encourage you to be a believer and not a doubter. Bless your life by blessing your days. In time you will see your praise offering take root and bring forth an abundant harvest of blessings and joy. (Habakkuk 3:17-19) (James 4:8)
I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to always be one who looks at the good in their life and is quick to give God praise for it.
A CHOICE TO MAKE
I believe that, at least to some degree, we can each exercise control over our outlook and attitudes. And the problem is - if we don't control our attitudes, they will surely control us.
One farmer took charge of his outlook. He did it by filling his mind with awe and gratitude. He found that doing this gave him more energy to work on problems and to tackle those things that needed his attention. His neighbor's outlook could not have been more different.
One summer morning he exclaimed, “Look at the beautiful sky. Did you ever see such a glorious sunrise?”
She countered. “It'll probably get so hot the crops will scorch.”
During an afternoon shower, he commented, “Isn't this wonderful? Mother Nature is giving the corn a drink today.”
“And if it doesn't stop before too long,” came the sour reply, “we'll wish we'd taken out flood insurance on the crops.” And so it went.
Convinced that he could instill some awe and wonder in this hardened woman, he bought a remarkable dog. Not just any mutt, but the most expensive, highly trained and gifted dog he could find. The animal was exquisite. It could perform remarkable and impossible feats that, the farmer thought, would surely amaze even his neighbor. So he invited her to watch his dog perform.
“Fetch!” he commanded, as he tossed a stick into a lake, where it bobbed up and down in the rippling water. The dog bounded after the stick, walked on the water, and retrieved it. “What do you think of that?” he smirked.
Her brow wrinkled. “Hmmm. Can't swim, can he?”
Not to sound too Pollyanna, but I agree with newscaster Paul Harvey when he said that he has never seen a monument erected for a pessimist. A stubbornly positive attitude can often make the difference between happiness and misery, between health and illness and even between life and death.
Viktor Frankl would have agreed. Dr. Frankl chronicled his experiences as a Holocaust and concentration camp survivor in his book Man's Search For Meaning. In it he asserts something really quite remarkable. He says that everything can be taken from a person except one thing. What can never be taken away is the power to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.
We can decide to choose our attitudes every day. That may be one of the most important decisions we will make. I don't want to neglect making that choice.
By Steve Goodier
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Psalm 34:1-4 “I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
Jeremiah 33:2-3 “Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is His name; Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
Psalm 23:1-4 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Poem: MY VERY BEST GIFT
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem166.htm
Today’s Selected Testimony: GOD IS FAITHFUL
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony118.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
