The First Day Of Spring

I woke up this morning to beautiful sunshine streaming in my window. Although we didn't get to bed until way too late last night, I was eager to get up, and put on my favorite jean skirt and amethyst blouse that make me feel beautiful. As I was making my bed and straightening up my room, I was thinking about all the wonderful things God has done. There is much to be thankful for.

Each day when I open my eyes I realize that God has given me a gift ~ one more opportunity to serve Him; to show Him how much I love him. No, I don't always feel like facing a new day. It would be nice some days to be able to stay in bed and not have to deal with.....life. But no matter what the day holds I want my life to bring honor and glory to Him. He didn't have to give me this day. I don't even have to acknowledge that He did. People come and go in a constant flow rarely even acknowledging God, let alone thinking of life in terms of a gift from Him. But regardless of others, I know that each day is fragile. Life is fragile.

We don't know when we wake up what each day will bring, but rather than allowing that to become a breeding ground for fear, we have to choose to focus on honoring God no matter what. The devil wants us to be distracted by the many things that come our way, but it is possible to keep our eyes on God, and not allow circumstances to dictate our state of being.

When things are going well, it is so easy to feel care-free, light, and happy. But when you continue to have those same feelings in the midst of the greatest storms of life, you are experiencing a miracle. It brought home to me the truth that life is made up of choices. God's grace is just as sufficient for me as it is for the next person; the difference lies in the choice made of whether to accept or reject it. It would be so easy to be miserable. To be consumed with worry, and doubt, and fear.

But...why would I want to do that?

I know that there have been times in my life when I have been miserable and nobody could convince me that I was choosing it. But despite my denials, the truth is that I was refusing to allow the Lord to be my sufficiency. Joy is a choice. Yes, there will be times of sadness and grief, but it is possible to go through life experiencing joy regardless of how I feel at any given moment. Just because I am surrounded by wind and clouds and rain doesn't mean the sunshine is no longer there.

You see, the devil is the master deceiver. The battle isn't in what we see we are facing, it's in what we don't see. The true battle is the one fought for our minds; the thoughts and feelings that so easily sway our hearts. That's why we are to walk by faith and not by sight. The devil deviously plants seeds of fear and doubt in our minds so that he may sift us as wheat, but he has no power to make us believe his lies. The choice is ours.

"Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." That is the key. That is one of the secrets to a victorious Christian life.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."