What does it take to knock you off your perch? I mean, if
you're having a good day and you're getting along contentedly, how much does it
take to bring you down and start making you feel anxious or tense?
Sometimes I think it doesn't take us very much. A careless
remark from somebody, a bad decision that we feel guilty about afterwards, a bit
of negativity of one sort or another. It's not that people set out to bring us
down, or that we intend to do silly things and stew over them, but sometimes we
can find our mood and our outlook has changed very suddenly and it's hard to
get it back.
They say a good percentage of the things we worry about
are unnecessary. When people say "Smile, it may never happen!" they're
probably right. We show a lack of perspective when we let little upsets get us
down. We need to remember that everyone makes mistakes, and we also need to understand
that we can't do everything and we're not called to. When we try to do everything,
and do it perfectly, we're bound to experience, in with our moments of triumph,
a lot of disillusionment.
If you are feeling guilty about some minor grievance, or
some good work you didn't do, maybe you need to give yourself a break. Jesus is
perfect, you're not. It's not your job to display every virtue at every
opportunity, or to solve every issue that arises. You need to ask God what He
is expecting of you, and you can bet on it being more reasonable than your own
or anyone else's expectations!
Of course, as I said on Sunday, what God asks won't
always look reasonable (think Jesus
telling Peter to get out of the boat to walk on the water with Him), and it can
be extremely challenging. How much more important is it then, that we are not
sidetracked with unnecessary worries and agendas that we've put on ourselves?
Look at these verses from James. Is there doubt in your
life which is causing you to be unstable? Maybe you need to ask God to develop
wise perspective and steadfastness in you. Ask and trust Him. Trust and do not worry.
"2 Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness . . .
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given
him.6 But let him ask
in faith, with no
doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind 7 For that person must not suppose
that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
1 James: 2-8 (ESV)
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