I'm pretty sure I've discussed this before, but since this is my latest therapy session and it's what's rolling around inside of me, I guess I'll talk about it again. Life with all it's complexities does not come at us like a math equation does it? To quote Bilbo Baggins from J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Fellowship of the Ring, "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." Your life is really just a story being told one page at a time. Each day you awake to a new morning it's just one more chapter beginning. The really cool thing is you don't know what is going to happen next, and there's where the fun begins.
There are a few books which I re-read on a yearly basis. I do this because I dearly love the stories and I enjoy revisiting them again and again. I know what is going to happen as I turn each page because I've read them so many times. My life however is not like that, and yours isn't either. We live our lives each day once, and tomorrow is going to be something else. It's like reading a story for the first time. The only down side to this is we don't know what is coming, so we can be caught unaware from time to time. Sometimes it's good things, and at other times it can be bad, unfortunartely we don't get to choose which it will be. We just have to take each day as it comes.
Our perspective really makes a difference in how we interpret our days though. The Bible says, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6), so we need to understand what God is truly saying in Scripture when we read it. In 1Thessalonians 5:18 we are commanded to give thanks in every circumstance. So many people have misinterpreted this passage of Scripture, using it to blame God when bad things happen, instead of doing what it actually teaches. It says, "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Notice the first word, "In". So many times people will quote it this way, "For all things give thanks..." God doesn't ask us to give thanks for everything, He tells us in every situation and circumstance to thank Him. It is a thankful heart which will lead you to the victory over every situation; good or bad.
Often what people want to do is work towards minimizing the amount of difficulties in their lives, thinking it is a challenge free life God offers mankind. Actually it is the exact opposite which He offers. It is not the absence of challenges which make our lives better, it is being able to interpret what is going on in the middle of the chaos, and walk it out according to the Word of God.
I have found a defining Scripture to go to when challenges show up. It is found in John 10:10, let's look at what Jesus said, "The thief comes only to kill, steal and destroy. I have come that you might have a full life." There are two things to notice here; one it is the thief (the devil) who is killing, stealing and destroying from you, and it is Jesus who is bringing you a full life. It's pretty plain and simple, and this one Scripture has probably helped me more than any other in the past five years. When you are faced with challenges, take this passage of Scripture and apply it to what is happening. If you find killing, stealing or destroying happening, then you will know who is doing it. If what you are experiencing is bringing a full and satisfying life, then guess what? It is coming from Jesus. This one Scripture will bring a lot of clarity to what is going on in your life each day.
I feel the time has come for me to tell one of the most difficult stories in my life. Yet in order to tell it properly I needed to lay the foundation for what I want to talk about. The foundation is this; we are all going to face challenges in life, every one of us. Sometimes they are harder than others, but we are all going to face them. We have to be able to rightly interpret what is happening in order to make it through the rough days. If our interpretation of the events is incorrect, we will not handle it properly. And the way to interpret what is going on correctly is found in John 10:10.
So having laid the foundation here, I will leave you now and return to this later. Have a great day, I'm off to church to be with my church family and spend some time corporately with my Heavenly Father. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!
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