Choices

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Today within five minutes of waking up, you brain will have already made 100s of decisions, and by time you get back in bed scientists estimate that the average human will have made 5,000 decisions each day.  How do I feel?  Will I stop by the bathroom, or just head outside to get the paper, or water the flowers, or maybe hit the snooze button again?  The choices only accelerate as you interact with other people, and begin the rest of whatever your day holds.

As human beings we the only creature in all of creation that God has made who can think about what they think.  You can think about what you think, and you can ascribe meaning to what you think about what you think.  Let’s be clear, I am not writing to you today about positive thinking models from the self-help realm.  Instead I share this as a confession: It’s easy to ascribe bad meaning to our circumstances.  It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing the world as out to get you.  It’s easy to be the victim, it’s easy to be negative, to complain, and to see the worst in anything.  It is much harder to remember that we worship a God who promises that He is in charge of the world that we live in.

What if instead, we saw each moment of our day knowing that God can use them to mold us, shape us, and prepare us for the plans he has for us.  That annoying co-worker might be a great training ground for your soon-to-be teenager; the challenging conversation with your spouse can prepare you to have those tough conversation with a friend; and the list can go on.  Stop and try asking this question: God, how are you using this for something greater?  What can I be learning, what reason do you have me right here right now.  I believe that God uses the circumstances of our lives to train us, prepare us, and encourage us; knowing what lies ahead for each of us.  Maybe tomorrow as you get out bed, and are ready to get up on the wrong side of the bed, you can stop; check your attitude, and ready yourself for God to use your day and circumstances for ministry.  Just ask, what if God has a great purpose for my day that I will miss if I am sulking, complaining, and otherwise convinced that it is just a bad day.  Trust me there are often no lack of reasons to be less than positive about our circumstances, but you might just miss what greater thing God is doing before your eyes.

 

Pastor Bill