Sep 21, 2017

"My Thought for Your Day" by Paul Minzlaff

For the latest installment of "My Thought for Your Day," visit our "Inspiration" blog.

I thought I would start today’s message with a bit of a challenge. It doesn’t require you to change a thing, all that I request is that you listen to the world with a new purpose in mind. What are you to listen for? Complaints.

If you are like most people, you won’t have to listen very long and your ears will be filled with dreaded words such as, like “The weather sucks again,” “The traffic jams are horrible,” “The lines are too long,” “The internet too slow” and, finally, “My boss doesn’t appreciate me.” And that was all in the first hour of your day! The world wants you to take your eyes off of God and His Word and have it focus on the distractions that surround us. With each hour of the day, the grace of God is pushed further into the background as your head and heart are subjected to a battering of the “grumbles.”

So how can we combat a “case of the grumbles?” It is not easy, but it starts with understanding that Satan has distracted your eyes off of God. Often, when our eyes and ears are distracted, our words don’t reflect the love of God in our heart. But fear not, there is hope for each of us. God has promised to “instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” He will counsel you and watch over you.

4 ‘R’s to combat our trials

1. Refresh. Invite God into your decisions before you make them, not after. Psalm 51:10 reminds us to “create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
2. Replenish. Trust that God has your present and your future in His control. “Don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
3. Re-energize. Bring a joyful heart to every situation. Pray the words of the Psalmist: “guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.
4. Repent. Put the “grumbles” in the rearview mirror. Don’t let the past define the future. The world does not often provide “do-overs,” but God’s grace says, “I forgive you, return to me and I will strengthen you.”

Hard as we try, it is unlikely that any of us will be able to eliminate words of despair and frustration from our vocabulary. Satan too often has us take our eyes off the goodness of God and has us direct our attention to what is best for ourselves. This selfishness leads us to feeling entitled to grumble and complain.

Now that you have heard the complaints of the world, what is going to be your response? Why not try repeating these words before you respond: “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will be glad and rejoice in it.”

Thoughts to Encourage

• When confusion is your companion, hope remains your friend.
• Faith in action is when you believe in the future you do not see.