It has been about a week since my last post. I hope that everyone enjoyed their thanksgiving and time with family. We all have so much to be thankful for everyday of our lives but when things are in chaos and troubles are everywhere we can lose sight of those things. It is easy to get wrapped up in the things that are not going right, the things that are trying, the needs that we have, and thoughts of the unknown. If we can keep our focus on the things that we can be thankful for it will make the troubles that we are facing not seem so bad. We can be thankful for water, lights, the ability to see, walk and hear, the friends that we have, a roof over our head, food in our belly, good health, making it through the sicknesses that we do have, having life, and having a God that cares about what we are going through.

In Romans 5:3 it says that we should rejoice too, when we run into problems and trails, for we know that they help us to develop endurance. And endurance helps develop strength of character, and strength of character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. I don’t know about you, but for me, I don’t shout for joy when I am facing problems and trials even though I do know that there is a lesson to be learned and that I can trust God to work out my problems. No problem is enjoyable. No trial is pleasing. But we do grow when we face those things. And the mindset that we have while we are facing them will determine the peace and joy that we have while we are going threw them. We can still enjoy our lives while we are facing difficulties. We can still have a smile on our face when our heart is troubled. We can still be kind and loving while we are not feeling so kind and loving. It all depends on how we choose to think and act while we are going threw things.

If I am facing financial hardships and I allow myself to think to much about what I do not have or how I am going to be able to pay a bill I will get stressed out and my joy will be taken from me. I will lose sleep and I will be short tempered with those around me. I will feel the weight of the problem weighing on my shoulders and I will become consumed with the problem. But if focus on doing what I can do, pray for God’s help and trust that He will provide, and not allow myself to over think about the situation, I am able to maintain my joy and get good sleep. If I think about what I can do instead of what I do not have then I am able to keep my peace and not be overwhelmed with the situation. I also make a point to be thankful for what I do have and the ability to pay what I can and that helps me to maintain my joy as well. I have learned that sitting around and thinking about something that I can do nothing about will not make the situation change and it will make the situation worse for me. Worrying will not get a bill paid but it will cause mental and even physical hardships for myself.

No matter what troubles we are facing, we can either make the situation better or worse by the way that we choose to think and act while going through it. Instead of focusing on the problem, focus on what you can do and if there is nothing that you can do then focus on trusting God to work it out. Focus on things that are going right and things that you are thankful for having. And always pray that God help you to focus on the good and not the bad. We can make the worse situation better by just choosing to look at it in the right way. Sometimes things have to happen in order for us to learn a valuable lesson for something that will happen in our future or to learn to handle that kind of situation better the next time.