Some days are good, some are bad and others fall between the extreme of each end. We all seem able to enjoy and even invite the good days. Good days are what life was supposed to deliver day after day for all of eternity. We blew that and have lived with the rest of the spectrum ever since. I'll still choose the good day over other days when given the chance. However, we don't always have that chance. Sometimes our days go from good to bad in 30 seconds and other days it takes a lot longer. Not all days go from good to bad. Sometimes we go from bad to good. What is it that makes the difference. I believe it's a combination of events and the people tied to them. None of us are perfect and we tend to create the day we are having. Sometimes it's more than a frame of mind or an acceptance of events that move our day in one direction or another. Sometimes the deciding factor is someone we don't know that injects the good or the bad into our situation. The death of someone we love can turn happiness to mourning and it should. That doesn't make the day bad nor does it make it good. The day just is. The birth of a child or grandchild or great-grandchild can make a dreary day full of bright light and hope. So there exists a multi-leveled input that creates our day. In the end, we have the ultimate choice what kind of day we are going to have. Paul counted it "all joy" to suffer the persecution for the sake of following Jesus. I don't always do that. When I do, sometimes I don't do it very well! I imagine that I'm not alone in that battle for my happiness.
There were many times in my life when I lived in such a way that I was always waiting with dread for the "other foot to drop." Not exactly Christian and not good for any aspect of my life. There were many times I "put on a happy face" in order to get through my day of being whatever to whomever wherever. Not exactly Christian either and definitely only good for other people. Yet, that's part of what we do when the day is before us. We choose. I woke up on the right side of the grass this morning. That's what makes it a good day. I woke up with Jesus by my side regardless. That's what makes it a great day. What I do after I get out of bed is entirely up to what interacts with my life and whether or not I let Jesus handle it. I know that whatever I do to handle life is less than what Jesus can do and wants to do in and through me. My "spirit is willing but my flesh is weak" seems to be what challenges me most. I want to do what Christ wants me to do. I really do! Yet, the old man in me seems to want to stay safe in my past cycles, reactions and thinking. That's when the good can turn into the bad real fast. That's exactly what Satan wants to have happen in my life. I choose whether I let him steal my joy or not. Christ died on the cross so that I could do just that. God wants me to "have life and have it more abundantly."
As if my day isn't complex enough for me, I have people I associate with and interact with almost daily. These range from loved ones to ones bent on my destruction. When I engage these groups or individuals my attention needs to be focused on the offensive and not on defense. Choosing to live my life intentionally for Jesus helps me keep the rain from falling on my parade. Choosing to succumb to the negative of the world around me takes me down roads that aren't intended by the Lord I serve. What I do with my day makes an immense affect on the lives of those around me. When I choose to let the real person in me live life with Jesus people can have hope and believe and have faith that they can as well. I try to stay away from negative people. Jesus seemed to seek them out. He, ultimate good, and I, ultimate whatever, need to come to terms. It would be most beneficial if I let Jesus live his life through me than to make Jesus live my life with little input from him. That doesn't mean I'll always choose the best. I'm human like everyone else and I get in his way. Jesus has a plan A for each of us. It begins with a good day realizing what he has done in order to offer salvation for our unworthy souls. Plan A is always the best. When I choose a plan B, Jesus puts another Plan A in front of me. That's the way my day goes. Most of the time I choose plan A. That's a good day. What are you and I going to choose today? It's really our choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment