Thursday; September 2

Do we ever feel like the world is pummeling us? Have we ever felt the constant pressure of society sucking the life out of us? Sure, I don’t know anyone who isn’t influenced by the difficulties we feel; but let me ask us a question. Even though we feel these pressures influencing us, are they serious enough to paralyze us? Oh, they can make us feel uncomfortable, but seriously, are they enough to destroy us or just create an uncomfortable feeling? As we go through life, it is tempting to feel the stressors of life – and because they make us feel bad – we feel like we are going to be overwhelmed. Yet is being overwhelmed inevitable or is the worst that can happen merely some temporary pain and inconvenience?
As I was reading through the New Testament the other day, I saw Paul’s philosophy of life that said, “… we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” (II Corinthians 4:8-10). Paul reminds us that life may not be easy but being uncomfortable isn’t necessarily debilitating. Interestingly, the reason he feels this way is spelled out in the verse before this, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; …” II Corinthians 4:7). The reason we can and will overcome is because God is with us.
When we find ourselves struggling, let’s keep in mind that most pain is temporary. With the help of God, we will endure and we will be better off when we come out the other end of the hardship.

Think About It! 

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more