I went to bed last night with and air of excitement and expectation for the warm sunny day that had been forecast, not only for Saturday but for the entire weekend and through Monday as well! You see… It is spring here in Oklahoma and while that means warmer weather and the dormant lawns and countryside turning green, the changes in the temperatures also signal the season of severe thunderstorms and tornados!
And much to my
personal displeasure… we’ve had a lot of those in the past few weeks. In fact, this month of April produced
the record for the highest amount of rainfall ever recorded! So… you can easily see why I
was so enthusiastic about this weekend’s change of pace forecast!
But low
and behold, when I
woke up before seven this morning, I found myself fighting a bombardment of
concerns for the multitude of things that need to be completed before I can put
the house on the market and follow through with the plan to move to Tennessee… and
alas… all that enthusiasm for a fantastic weekend seemed to blow away
in a puff of smoke!
So… I dragged
myself out of bed and out of nowhere… began to speak aloud and interestingly
enough… say to myself,
“Jim, Be anxious for nothing
and don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. But be
saturated in prayer and the Word throughout each day, offering your
faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every
detail of your life, and then God’s wonderful peace that transcends all human
understanding, will guard your thoughts and emotions and make the answers known
to you through Jesus Christ.”*
Well, that
should have been enough to flip my lid and get me going in the right direction…
but it didn’t! It took me
the time to brew up and pour into my insolated cup some Folger’s Hazelnut
flavored coffee… how does that jingle go…
♫ “The best part of waking up is Folger’s in your cup”♪,
sit at
my desk in the study, turn in my Bible to where I had left off yesterday and
read,
“Thank God that He gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, then, brothers and sisters,
don't let anyone (or
anything) move you off
the foundation of your faith. Always excel
in the work you do for the Lord. (for) You know that the hard work you do for the Lord is not
pointless.” (I Corinthians 15:57-58
– TPT)
The truth of not
letting anyone nor anything move us off our foundation of faith,
brought back immediate memories of the various individuals who seemed to thrive
in their attempts to shake our faith with their negative opinions of Piper’s
and my needs when she got sick… BUT… It wasn’t their words
that I was reminded of this morning… it was God’s and His faithfulness to His
Word toward us… all along the pathways of that journey.
And THAT’S
what gave me the victory and return me back to the place of excitement
and expectation that I went to sleep with last night!
But you
know? It didn’t end there… As I mulled over all those thoughts in
my heart and mind, I suddenly remembered something that Piper and I used to
discuss a lot, as well as share with others, throughout the 48
years of our relationship, from high school on… that we always felt and held to
the conviction that
“The Christian life… (and we’d make it very personal by adding) ‘Our Christian Life’ is supposed to be an EXCITING and ADVENTEROUS
personal relationship and walk of faith with Jesus Christ… But it is NOT for
the WEAK or WORRY hearted!”
Well, the
recollection of our long-standing belief and personal approach to our faith
made me smile this morning and feel any overwhelming sense of despair float
right out my study window! Then when I
looked back at my open Bible, my eyes carried up a couple of verses from
Philippians 4:6-7 to verse 4… and I literally burst out with a hearty laugh…
so much so that the dog jumped off the couch behind me with a look, as if to
say “Hey I was sleeping here!”
Philippians 4:4
seemed to confirm everything I had just learned and caused me to lift my arms
in praise to the Lord as I read aloud…
“Be cheerful with joyous
celebration in every season of life. Let joy overflow, for you are
united with the Anointed One!” (TPT)
So, yea… I felt like the Lord was reminding me
and re-connecting me to Piper’s and my personal conviction of the way we lived
our faith. As I walked out of my study
this morning, I definitely felt the old swag and pull of the excitement
and adventure of my faith.
The cheerfulness and joy that keeps me strong, confident and balanced
on the foundation of my faith had re-centered me and is there
to keep me strong and on point for all the good things that the good
Lord has in store for me!
What
about you today? Are you feeling strong, confident and balanced
on the firm foundation of your personal faith?
What are you going to do when you feel the burdens and cares of your
life shaking your faith? If you
haven’t yet… you might want to memorize Paul’s encouraging and life
strengthening words found in Philippians 4:4-9** from your
favorite Bible translation… It’s a quick and proven way to re-center your
life on the foundation of your faith!
Have a great
weekend. I hope that your weather
forecast is as nice as our is today… and as you’re out enjoying God’s creation…
Keep EXPECTING to EXPECT God’s BEST for your life!
*Personalized version of Philippians
4:6-7 from the God’s Word © and The Passion translations.
**Remember
that Paul wrote these words while awaiting an uncertain future in prison…
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