“There are days when you don’t have a song in your heart.
Sing anyway.” - Emory Austin
This week I’ll admit that I started off feeling a little weary. My “shine” was unsteady - just a flicker - but God doesn’t let us wallow in gloominess or hide in the shadows.
Tuesday I got to work in the morning and turned on the radio (K-Love, of course). The song “The Light in Me” by Brandon Heath was on the air. As I listened to the words, they triggered some thoughts about my feeling of weariness. There was a line in the song that said, I was a flame burning down, I was burning out. The lyrics were talking about someone’s life before they knew Christ. I thought to myself, “That is exactly how I am feeling, but I do know Christ.” The more I listened to the words, the clearer my problem became… my light has been flickering, like a fluorescent bulb right before it burns out. I attributed the “cause” to my busy-ness, stress at work, and some financial concerns, but really those issues were just everyday challenges, not anything devastating.
In my mind I understand that we all have to deal with “troubles, burdens and hardships” and that God is with us through it all. But, my heart had forgotten the words of Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” No, my “challenges” were not the cause of my feeling of weariness it was my “attitude.” The way I was reacting to my challenges was the real test, and I think I failed with a big red F. I had been letting my attitude steal my joy, peace, and yes, even my love. Instead of listening to God’s word, serving others, and turning to friends for encouragement, I had isolated myself (once again). I asked myself… if I know what is right, why do I keep doing the things I know are wrong?
Funny how God is unrelenting when He wants us to get the message. It just happened that K-Love’s encouraging scripture verse for Tuesday was taken from John 8:12, “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” Coincidence? I think not!
So, I thought about how I could change my attitude. Three alternatives came to mind for when I know what I should be doing but am tempted to do something else instead.
1 – Turn to God.
Through prayer and reading his word, we are kept on the right path and re-assured that He is on the journey with us at all times…. as a result, we experience hope and peace in His presence and our hearts are filled with love.
2 – Serve Others.
When we give from the overflow of our heart, God continues to fill us up. It is in serving others that Jesus is met… as a result of sharing God’s love, we are filled with joy (and many times we discover that our challenges may not be so tough after all).
3 – Be Accountable.
As Christians, we know that God holds us accountable. It also helps to have others that we answer to as “accountability partners.” The benefit of having an accountability partner is that we have someone else, here on earth, to walk with us through our highs and lows… sharing our joys and praying for us through our challenges.
1 - 2 - 3… I wrote them down, re-read them and prayed about them…
By the end of the week, God gave me a little re-test…. He put someone along my path that needed a few words of encouragement (because they were feeling “weary”). Since my attitude had changed, I was able to share some of the thoughts that I had been putting together for this blog and also gave witness to how God had helped me through many of the challenges in my life. In doing so two things happened… 1) the person left with a smile on his face, but not before saying he appreciated a listening ear, and 2) in sharing my challenges, I realized that God had seen me through my struggles before, and will do so again (and again, and again).
It’s Friday, Let’s “Sparkle” … action required… Not sure where God will lead me this weekend, but I plan for my smile to shine a little brighter because of His love. My servant attitude will radiate with a little more sparkle because of the joy in my heart. And my spirit will be refreshed, because I’ve found peace again. That’s what the journey is all about, my friends…God’s Peace!
Another line from Brandon Heath’s song says ‘Cause in Your perfection, I’m just a reflection' … so this weekend SPARKLE in whatever way you choose, because we are reflecting HIS LIGHT! And if our paths ever cross on one of my “bad attitude” days, I give you permission to hold me accountable and tell me to read the words of this blog ONE MORE TIME!
Until next week ... remember you have been blessed to be a blessing ... (Genesis 12:2). God’s Peace, Donna Weaver
“If you ask me what I came into this world to do,
I will tell you: I came to live out loud.”
- Emile Zola
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