All For Him

Handling difficult times with a positive attitude is a very hard thing to do but you CAN do it by

'trusting that God knows what He's doing in your life'. Ephesians 1:7-23

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that has difficult times but then I wake up and thank God for all I have and all He has done in my life...including saving it from certain destruction more than a few times.

Recently God called my family to a different church. I say 'called' because when we started visiting we knew almost immediately that that was where we were suppose to be. Isn't that the way it happens sometimes? Somebody tell me if its not and that I don't know what I'm talking about so you can then tell me what 'called' means. Sometimes I probably just babble and say things that I obviously have no idea about when I think I really do. We've had so many choices to make in the past few months that have literally wiped me out. But I know that I have to keep on going and fighting the good fight and trust that what I'm doing is what God wants me to do. With a positive attitude....WHICH IS NOT EASY FOR ME AT ALL. Some things He tells me to do are completely wonderful and easy. But when He told DH and I to move our family to another church...from a church that has done nothing but walk our family thru salvation and baptism.... it was the hardest thing in the world that I personally have ever done. Ben (DH) was not a Christian and our church prayed for him for three years until he finally came to know Jesus and started understanding His role in his life. Me, Ben and two of my boys were baptized there. It will always be the first church that we called 'home'. I completely understand now WHY He wanted us to go someplace else but that doesn't make it any easier or less hurtful. And it DOES hurt when you leave church family that you've depended on for years. Even when people...your friends especially...don't understand or have different views of why you're leaving. But no one should have any influence on your decisions if you're doing it for Christ right? Right. I believe that one reason we were moved was because of spiritual maturity. I think that sometimes God moves you to better your relationship with Him so you can grow and mature spiritually.

I am a very emotional person and tend to analyze every single teeny tiny thing that someone says about me or about a choice I've made that might hurt me. I have to remember that I shouldn't be analyzing ANYTHING but only DOING things that glorify HIM. I don't need to worry about what people think of me if I'm doing what I'm suppose to be doing for Him....how many times have I said or written this down. Millions of times I'm sure.

It just hurts when you have friends or family that don't agree with what you do or accuse you of doing something for a completely different reason than you really are. It's as if they're calling you a hypocrite to your face! But the thing I think that upsets me the most about these people is that most of the time they are very uneducated about what they say yet they believe they are right. For instance, some people talk about a church like they've been there and know everything about it when they've never even been in the parking lot. They do and say things to hurt you (usually without realizing it) because they are defending what THEY believe. Ok...so I'm talking off the top of my head... I tend to do that too. Even if its just to talk it out with myself. Anyway, that hurts. It sometimes feels like after you've done what you're suppose to then you may feel God just leaves you for a while...abandoning you.

I was doing a Bible Study online and I realized that Love and Joy and yes even FORGIVENESS is what gives life meaning. Yet you often spend much of your time interpreting your experiences by what you can see, taste, and touch: I am a successful businessperson; therefore; I must be important. My son has decided not to live for God; therefore, I must be a bad parent. Like a baby who cries when his mother leaves to go to the next room, you may feel like God sometimes abandons you because you can't see how very near he is. Life is often hard, certainly more than a "positive mental attitude" can bear. But thank God that he gives real reasons to be hopeful, even when you're struggling (1:7He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins). You are his, and nothing can separate you from him. Even your difficult circumstances can be turned into joys when you let them remind you of God's truths (1:11Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan). Even during times of emotional famine, you can feed on God's eternal truths.

Great scripture for this is Leviticus 26:1-13, Job 23, Micah 4:1-5, Nahum 1:2-7, 15 and Romans 8:18-30.

Good Words to Remember:Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

Ephesians 1: 15- 23 15Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,16I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 19I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

So I have a question from my study to end this and I would like for whomever reads this to add a comment to help me continue to learn.....

In times of emotional famine, how can you feed on God's eternal truths?