I have learned that not everyone will understand my pain and that it is OK. Throughout scripture, we are encouraged to pray and encourage each other. However, nowhere does it say we should expect of man only what God can give. People have a limited bandwidth, which is fine because they are not God. I have learned that I should not put unfair expectations on people and get angry when they don’t understand my pain. I ask for prayer and share my pain with others when it is needed. However, I am learning to not get frustrated when they are unable to empathize or even offer just the right words in response to my pain. Instead, I am learning to cast my cares on Jesus because He cares for me. He totally understands, and He always has the right response.
Hebrews 4:15-16
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
I Peter 5:7
…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
I have learned to be at peace with not having all the answers and to put my trust in the God who does. I won’t always understand the why behind the what, and that’s OK. This is a hard place to get to if we lack faith. We as people love to be in control and when we don’t have answers it can drive us crazy. The enemy can have a field day in our minds if we don’t get to that place of accepting that the secret things belong to God. I don’t always understand the mind and ways of God. However, I can rest in peace knowing that He is faithful, and whatever He allows, it’s for a purpose and it will always work for my good.
Isaiah 55: 8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I have learned that I need to stop saying that I do not have enough time in a day to accomplish all my tasks. The question is not whether I have enough time, instead, I should ask what I am doing with the time I have? If my priorities are misguided and I haven’t sought God for my daily agenda, then yes, I will come to the end of the day lamenting about how I didn’t have enough time. Most of us are overwhelmed and always feel hurried because we put more on our to do list than we should. We were not created to do it all. We can also be on the opposite end of the spectrum and become poor steward of our time. God admonishes us to not be idle. Instead of TELLING God what I am going to do each day, I am learning to pause and ASK Him what I should be doing. Whenever I take this approach, my days are a lot more productive because I have allowed my daily steps to be ordered by God.
Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Have you noticed that it can be difficult to concentrate and be productive if your house isn’t clean? For today’s lesson, I have learned that cleaning my house is important. A clean and organized home helps to improve my mood. I understand that we have different seasons of life and things may not always look the way we want it to. I get it, I encourage you to not get discouraged but do what you can. There are 8 of us that live in our house and I sometimes wonder how on earth someone with such a tiny body can make a tornado of a mess. Even though my house is not always picture perfect, I have learned that I must make it a priority to try to keep things in order. I try to be mindful of how much time I WASTE on my phone or being idle. I may not be able to keep the entire house looking sparkling clean each day, but I try to be intentional with the little things such as daily making my bed and doing some laundry each day. God is a God of order and I realize that He is also concerned about the ways in which I keep my surroundings. I want to honor Him in all I do, nothing is off limit. I would love to hear from you, what are some things you do to maintain a tidy home? Do you struggle in this area?
Proverbs 31:27
She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
I have been known to have sweet teeth. Yes, you read that correctly, I did not say teeth, not tooth. I had a serious addiction to sugar and was convicted about it on more than one occasion. In the past, when I was overwhelmed, I would run to get something sweet before I would go and pray. Sugar had become an idol, it often took the place of God in my life.
God made it plain to me a few years ago that I was to eliminate sugar from my diet. When I acted like I didn’t understand what He was saying, He made it CRYSTAL CLEAR TO ME. I started having ailments in my body whenever I ate processed sugar. I wasn’t too fond of being bloated, feeling dizzy, having cramped and swollen joints so I decided it was time to obey. I am so grateful because I have been able to find these two natural alternatives to replace processed sugars.
The lesson I have learned for today is that my diet does matter. When I eat like I should, I have clarity of thought and more energy and I am better prepared to fulfill my purpose. My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and I have to treat it as such. God is concerned about us holistically so what we put on our plates matter. I want to encourage you to not only ask God about your gifts and purpose but to also ask Him what you should eat. When He responds, I encourage you to obey because what you eat does matter.
Be Blessed,
Anika
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
3 John 1:2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.
Don’t kid yourself, your choice of entertainment matters. God tells us to have times of refreshing. However, we must be careful that the entertainment we feed ourselves during those times don’t become counterproductive and leave us “burdened” instead of refreshed.
I have learned that even though I am “good and grown” I must still be mindful of the kind of entertainment I feed my spirit. I can’t be naïve and think that it doesn’t matter because it does. The enemy has an agenda and a lot of the stuff that is labeled as entertainment is contrary to the word of God. Sometimes we are struggling in certain areas and it’s because we have opened the door to the enemy through the things we watch and listen to. We can also greatly compromise our ability to operate in our gifts because of our choice of entertainment. All areas of our lives but be submitted to the Holy Spirit, and that includes our choice of entertainment. Is choosing the right entertainment an area of struggle for you? Leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you.
Psalm 101: 3-4 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.