He does expect something from you though.  To pray earnestly and with the expectation that he will answer you.  When you pray, God will hear you and answer once you pray with sincerity and the belief that he will help you.  If you pray and subconsciously feel that  you are praying in vain, then don’t expect to get any answer or relief from your troubles.  Pray fervently, honestly, from your heart, trusting and knowing that God will answer.  Be persistent, don’t give up nor give in.  Regardless of the hour, whenever you feel the need, go to God in prayer.  He is your natural lifeline.

Do not underestimate God.  Sometimes we feel that our problems are too overwhelming or even too trivial for God.  But we must understand that, no matter what, or who we are, God is there for us.  Build a relationship with him, through Jesus Christ, and you will see that nothing is impossible for Him.

“Pray at all times and every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 6:18

“If only I had gone to College”, “if only I had listened to my parents”, “if only I had taken that other job”, “if only I had married someone else”, etc.

Sometimes the blame is placed on other people rather than ourselves, but at the end of the day it is still up to us to find a solution to the problem.

Laying blame, making excuses or running away from the problem will not accomplish anything.  Even if we get advice from friends or family or seek professional counselling, we must still take the initiative to make the change, to actually do something about resolving the issue.

Being proactive makes you a better person.  It helps to build self confidence and self esteem, it even draws you closer to God.

When problems get out of hand, God is your final lifeline.  When you feel hopeless, when it seems as there is no solution whatsoever, God is there to help.  But you must call on Him.  You must take that stand and reach out to Him and everything will be alright in the end.

Always remember that, and problem solving, no matter how difficult the issue is, will become a breeze.

“Give all your worries and cares to God for He cares about what happens to you.”  I Peter 5:7

When you involve yourself in gossping and slandering another person, this can impact negatively on your spiritual life.  You spend so much time minding other people’s business, you don’t have time for your own.

I have had the experience of people taking an interest in my personal life.  You see, I am a very reserved person.  In my workplace, I keep to myself and hardly really mingle with others.  This is not to say I am ’stuck up’ as some people think, it is I just prefer to be on my own than get involved in matters that does not concern me – office politics for one, and gossiping of other coworkers being the other.

Because I am such quiet person, people tend to take an unsettling  interest in me and ask questions of my closest friend which really does not concern them – am I married; does my husband work; where does he work; who is the father of my baby (when I was last pregnant);  etc, etc. 

I would tell her that because they don’t have a life of their own, that’s why they are so interested in mine.  Then there is the other aspect where they say nasty things about me because they don’t know anything about me.  Sometimes it just takes one person to say something and someone else expands on it and then it becomes so nasty and degrading you really wonder how some people could be so malicious.

I don’t take them on though.  I do what I have to in terms of my work and I make sure that all my conversations to others are about work and nothing more.  I think that is one of the reasons I happen to keep so young and happy.  I don’t worry unnecessarily and concern myself with only what concerns me.

If I am in the company of others and the topic happens to gravitate to gossiping about another person, I just excuse myself and go somewhere else, or just listen and have nothing to say.  I don’t like it for myself so I won’t do it someone else.

The bible says:

“Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own”.  Proverbs 26:17

What happens when you seize a dog by the ears?  It is likely to bite you.  When you meddle in matters that does not concern you, you are likely to be bitten.  This can happen by:

1. you getting hurt physically;
2. you worrying unnecessarily about something that has nothing to do with you;
3. you end up holding a grudge against someone because they refuse to take your advice;
4. you are so concerned about someone else’s problems your own life with its own problems are neglected.

Jesus Christ commanded that we love one another.  When you love, you do your best to see the good in everybody.  Don’t join in gossiping about others and don’t involve yourself in matters that don’t concern you directly.

We must all look at the positive side to any matter and pray for someone in a difficult situation for this is the only way we can truly help them.

Heaven and Hell are real places.  They actually exist, although not in the way we are accustoemed to seeing it portrayed.  I will expand on this in subsequent posts.

Heaven and Hell, although actual places, can also been seen as states of mind.  The way you live your life, the way you think and feel can determine whether you are living in heaven or hell right now.

If you have peace of mind, think positively and live your life according to God’s principles then you can experience heaven now.  If you are constantly thinking negatively or feel hatred and resentment for others, or live your life recklessly then you will experience hell.

Some people use drugs to get a feeling of constant ‘high’, a state that makes them feel good or ‘heavenly’.  Unfortunately, this feeling does not last long and they continue to take these drugs in order to regain that ‘high’.  But what it actually does  is destroy their minds and bodies and by extension their entire lives, because they will never experience that feeling like the first time.  What happens is they live a life of hell.

But life does not have to be like that.  We all have choices and we can choose to live a heavenly life by making the effort to think happy, positive and successful thoughts.  By helping, loving and showing compassion to others  and living as Jesus Christ taught.  Any other avenue will result in failure.  It will only be an artificial and temporary feeling.

The good news is anyone can turn their life around, regardless of how they lived.  Hell does not have to be a permanent place.  You can come out if you so choose.

Choose to live a life for Christ and you can be assured of experiencing heaven, not only now, but for all eternity.

You must remember that there is only so much you can do to live a peaceable and stress free life.  You cannot put yourself under undue stress and anxiety over things you have no control over.

For instance, as a wife, mother and career person, life can be very overwhelming with the amount of duties you have to do in a given day.  But apart from proper planning and time management, there is only so much you can do.  Trying to overstretch yourself will only make you stressed out and tired unnecessarily.

There is a saying “why put off for tomorrow what you can do today,” but if you don’t have the time today then by all means put it off for tomorrow.  God does not expect you to be super human, and this goes not only for women, but men as well.

Another stressful situation can be the lack of money.  If the money you have now can only go so far, then you have to be content with that for the moment.  Stressing yourself out over money you don’t have does not make any sense whatsoever.  Do what you can now and more will come when the time is right.

Don’t let anyone pressure you into doing something you don’t have the time, resources or inclination to do.  Happiness is your right, and you can only do so much.

“Don’t worry about anything, instead prayabout everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand”.  Philippians 4:6-7

Fruits of the Spirit – Are you Bearing Them?

A child in Ghana

Stop complaining falls more or less in the same category as stop worrying.  Just as there are chronic worriers, there are chronic complainers, people who just complain about everything and could never be satisfied about anything.

I read in a magazine recently about some college students from the US who took a trip to West Africa – Nigeria and Ghana specifically.

Their experience there taught them to be appreciative and grateful for the things they have in their own country.  What they take for granted, these people don’t know much about.  Basic things like indoor plumbing and electricity.  One student said she has learned to be appreciative of her education, and not just the academics, but basic stuff like hygiene and health.

Another student said whenever she found herself wanting to complain about no airconditioning, hot water, or not having anything to wear, she remembers her trip to Africa.

But what was most interesting to me is that one of them expressed his amazement that even though the Ghanian people had barely enough to survive, they were happy and content. 

And this is the point really, we here in the western world, despite the fact we have everything – good education, access to technology, abundant food and the basic necesities – we just don’t seem to be satisfied or happy with life.  While the people in some partfs of Africa are struggling to survive, they have learned to be happy with what they do have – which is not much by our standards.

We have to start recognizing how blessed we are and stop taking our abundance for granted.  There is no need to complain or worry because God is always there to take care of us.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank Him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”  Philippians 4:6

When you hold hatred and malice in your heart you rob yourself of happiness and peace.  It literally destroys you.  You know, when somebody does you wrong, intentionally or otherwise, they may at some point, feel sorry for what they have done to you.  If they seek forgiveness from you, give it to them.  Let go of the hurt and pain and move on with your life.

“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.  If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent’, forgive him.”  Luke 17:3-4 NIV

Another thing to keep in mind is, when you hold a grudge against someone, you are actually doing nothing to them.  They would probably go about their lives normally and happily, while you make yourself sick with feelings of hate and revenge.  It really makes no sense doing that to yourself.  The best way to avenge anyone is to show them love and leave their actions up to the Lord.

“Dear friends, never avenge yourselves.  Leave that to God.  For it is written,

‘I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it, says the Lord’. 

Instead do what the Scriptures say: ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them.  If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.’ 

Don’t let evil get the best of of you, but conquer evil by doing good.”  Romans 12:19-21

Most importantly, when we forgive others, we allow ourselves to be forgiven also.  You must remember our lives are infallible and there may come a time when we may do something to offend someone and look for forgiveness.  If you don’t know how to forgive, chances are you will not be forgiven, especially by the one who matters most – God.

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins”.  Matthew 6:14-15

“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too”.  Mark 11:25

If you find your prayers are not being answered, it could be you have animosity towards someone.  Check it out, forgive and experience the peace of mind you deserve.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”  I Samuel 16:7

What does it mean to judge?  In this instance to judge means to form an opinion, to criticize or to assume or suppose something.

But how does this relate to having peace of mind?  Well for one thing, it can save you a lot of embarrasement.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Susan Boyle.  She was the woman who made an appearance on the British talent show, Britains Got Talent.  When she appeared on stage, she caused quite a stir with her ‘frumpy’ look.

People in the audience laughed at her when she said she wanted to be a professional singer like Elaine Paige.  They were all very skeptical.  But when she opened her mouth and began to sing, she shocked everyone, including the judges and she instantly became an overnight sensation.

See the video.

This is a classic case of judging by appearance.

We should never judge a person by their looks, attitudes or by what other people say about them.  It is always better to get to know the person personally, or find out more from someone close to them if necessary.  We should follow the Lord’s example:

“…people judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”  I Samuel 16:7b

You see when you judge you also put yourself in a position to be judged by others.  Don’t do to others what you do not want for yourself.

We all make mistakes, it is a part of life.  Never see yourself as better than anyone else for that is what you do when you judge others. 

“Stop judging others, and you will not be judged.  For others will treat you as you treat them.  Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged.”  Matthew 7:1-2

Be sure that your heart is pure when that time comes for you to be judged.

“Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere” – Glenn Turner

Worrying really gets you nowhere.  As a matter of fact there are two things you can do to stop worrying:

1. Don’t put yourself in a position to worry, and
2. Find a solution to your problem.

Let’s look at the first point.

What is the most common thing that most people worry about –  Money.

A lot of people spend more than they earn.  They borrow to get what they want quickly.  This causes debt and debt makes them worry about their finances.   Of course sometimes there is no choice to borrow money, but there must be proper planning, and proper planning is the key to living a successful life.

Then there are those who prefer to sit and worry about situations instead of finding solutions.  There is a solution to every problem.  Let’s use finances as an example.

You are in debt.  You are having diffulty paying your bills, and that has you worried.  The best thing to do is find a way to get out of debt.  Talk to your creditors, together you all can work out something.  When you have gotton rid of your debt, start saving and don’t put yourself in a position to be in debt again.

Then there are situations we have no control over.  Maybe you or someone you know has been diagnosed with a terminal illness such as cancer.  Worrying about death and your family is certainly understandable.  But the whole point of living a spiritual life is to be able to cope with life in general.  You will be able to face any situation that life brings in a confident and faith filled manner.

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.”  1 Peter 5:7

And then there are chronic worriers, those who worry about things that are not worth worrying over at all.  It is something that on their own they have no control over, but there is help, there always is.

Matthew 6:31-33 states that we should not worry about things such as clothes and food, that God knows all our needs and He will give us everything we need once we seek His Kingdom first.

Whatever the problem in your life, there is help.  Worrying will not solve it, but prayer and faith in Jesus Christ certainly will.

Weight loss asked that I expand on them in future posts and since my readers are special to me I shall oblige.  I’ll start with the first point, ’slow down.’

Life is a hustle.  We hustle to work, school or whatever it is that fills up our day.  But have you ever stopped and wondered what all the rush is really about?

Basically we rush because we need money.  It’s all about working towards getting the things we need and want to satisfy us.  Granted we need money to live, and in order for us to get what we desire we must work hard.  Or do we?

Stream

“The Lord is my shepherd;

I have everything I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows;

He leads me beside peaceful streams”.  (Psalm 23:1-2)

When was the last time you stopped and smelled the roses?  Watched the sun set?  Admire your beautiful surroundings?

Yellow Sunset

I’m sure you’ve heard people say, “God will provide”, and he does.  Once we live our life for him we shall never want for anything.

Of course, I don’t mean to just sit around and wait for things to happen, but life is much more than hustling and bustling to make a dollar.

Yes, there is nothing wrong in wanting the finer things in life, but it makes no sense stressing yourself out to get them.  You might just kill yourself in the process and you will not be around to enjoy everthing you worked so hard for.

Notice anything about the two verses I quoted?  They use nature to describe how God will take care of you.

Japanese Tea Garden

“The Lord will guide you continually watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy too.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-lasting flowing spring.”  Isaiah 58:11

Slow down, enjoy the beauty of God’s creation and imagine what your life will be like when you make a commitment to him -  as beautiful as a well-watered garden.

You may not necessarily get everything you want in this life, but look forward to the ultimate goal, and all this will help you to have peace of mind.

“And this is the way to have eternal life – to know you the only true God and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”  John 17:3