Life isn’t
easy. That is a statement that I bet all
of us would agree with, yet our different perspectives bring us to look at the
situations in ways that we can live with.
Some people are simply negative and are looking for something to
complain about. Others are positive and
seek to make the best of any situation that comes our way.
One of the ways that
I find strength and get a lift from depression and stress is to remember what
God says. God has given us much to hang
on to, to memorize, to share with others and to make our journey easier.
The following
verses have long been a part of what I believe about God. To apply this truth will make a difference in
our lives and in the lives of the people around us.
4-5 Celebrate
God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet
that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to
arrive. He could show up any minute! 6-7 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.
8-9 Summing it all
up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on
things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not
the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me,
what you heard and saw and realized. Do
that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most
excellent harmonies.
Take a look at
those verses. Read them in other
translations of the Bible. Ask God to
help you apply things that will change you and change the people you have
influence over.
Celebrate
God.
The more I get to
know God and the more I see His love, the more I can worship and celebrate
Him. To revel in God is to mull over,
think about, spend time in the celebration of our God.
He
could show up at any time.
Jesus is coming
back. Be ready for Him. Look for Him.
This God of ours is on our side.
He is for us. That makes a big
difference.
Don’t
fret or worry. Instead of worrying,
pray.
That is easier said
than done, yet when we replace our faith ahead of our fear, things will
change. I need that to be true of
me. Stress and worry pulls me down. Allowing God His rightful place in my life
lifts me up.
Christ
displaces worry at the center of our lives.
There has to be a
change. A good thing is to replace a bad
thing. These verses say that worry is
replaces with God’s presence and His peace.
This reality is a great thing.
Meditating
on things true…put into practice what you learned.
The old saying of
“garbage in and garbage out” is the real thing.
What we think about we will become like.
The more of God in my life and claiming His truth the more my life will
line up with what God wants for me.
I challenge you to
claim what God says as true. Allow what
God give us, the truth, to replace the faulty and crooked believing that this
world allows us to hold on to. Changing
what we believe happens as we claim the truth.
Jesus is truth!
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