Do You Hate or Enjoy Life's Schedules?

The schedules for school, work, and home require structure for our lives, plus they appropriately provide meaning and purpose for us. We as individuals need definite times and places to be meaningfully engaged in life. We need loved ones to go home to, where love and affection are shared.

I realize life isn’t always pleasant or kind, so we may have to endure some stressed out ways of managing daily life and responsibilities. What’s amazing is how God has created us to be adaptable so we can feel joy by realizing he faithfully provides for our needs.

Even Jesus needed time to rest so he then could put himself back out into the world of people and work. God intended for us to do the work he designed for us, which includes being the salt of the earth and light of the world. This means letting others see what God can do with a life that’s dedicated to serving him. Be that person God has called.

_________

The Lord guides us in the way we should go and protects those who please him. If they fall, they will not stay down, because the Lord will help them up.

~Psalm 37:23-24 Good News Bible

_________

Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week.

What Makes Transitions So Difficult?

How well you cope with life’s transitions depends on whether your strengths or weaknesses are in control. That Saul had been chosen by God to be the first King of Israel was unquestionable. Yet on the day of his coronation he failed to show up as anxiety and fear took control of his life.

Instead of asking God for strength and courage, he permitted fear of being ill-prepared for the responsibility to consume him. The strongest personalities will face anxiety and fear, but a person’s inner strength and faith in God prevent weaknesses from dominating their lives.

Sadly, Saul would go through life refusing to put God first in his life. Transitions are predictable in God’s plan and purpose for you, so giving Christ Jesus first place in your life provides security to face whatever life presents. 

Permitting Christ Jesus to be your source of security isn’t easy but is possible with God’s help. So trust in him with all your heart.                            

__________ 

The steps of good men [and women] are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take. If they fall, it isn’t fatal, for the Lord holds them up with his hand.

~Psalm 37:23-24 The Living Bible

__________

Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week. 

Choosing the Right Path

 When I was in college and home for the holidays, my dad and I visited a farmer who was selling some livestock. After negotiations were settled and we were enjoying coffee, the conversation turned personal. With tear-filled eyes, the farmer related how he, as a young adult, believed God meant for him to be a minister, but he had refused God’s call and remained on the family farm.

Everyone decides which path they should follow in life. Every choice requires some significant sacrifice. Moses would have to renounce a secure shepherd’s life before experiencing the future God planned for him. He offered numerous excuses for remaining a shepherd.

One was, "I have never been a good speaker, and nothing has changed since you, God, have been speaking to me from this burning bush."  God responded, "I will be with you to inspire your words.” Caution is normal when the future cannot be known, but remember this: God's adequacy is greater than your feelings of inadequacy.

____________ 

The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take. If they fall, it isn’t fatal, for the Lord holds them with his hand.

~Psalm 37:23-24 The Living Bible

____________

Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week.

Avoid a Fall into Failure

Failure and defeat are as much a part of life as are success and victory. As a child I had difficulties learning to read, spell and articulate. Remedial reading programs did not exist, but by the fifth grade I had taught myself to read. Today, these issues are diagnosed as a form of dyslexia.

While some failures and defeat are beyond our control, others are caused by inattention or irresponsibility. Pride is often used an excuse to compensate for a weakness that has in its composition the ingredients for failure. Pride prohibits confession of weaknesses for fear of revealing hidden feelings of inferiority.

Sampson’s pride barred him from admitting personal weaknesses. This attitude laid the foundation for his undoing and disgrace. Proverbs 11:2 warns, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Isn't it wonderful that humility and wisdom are safeguards against pride? Make humility your priority so God can bless you with wisdom. 

____________________

Before his downfall a person's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

~Proverbs 18:12 Christian Standard Bible

The Lord guides us in the way we should go and protects those who please him.

If they fall, they will not stay down, because the Lord will help them up.

~Psalm 37:23-24 Good News Bible

_____________________

Subscribe to the Attitude Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week. 

Free to Change – but Hold God's Hand

We’re occasionally given the privilege of making a new beginning. My grandfather would periodically sell his possessions and move to another farm, hoping for better crops and a brighter future for his family. While we are at liberty to make needed changes, it takes a serious sacrifice to make needed change become a reality.

As commitment empowers change, hard work and consistency ensure its success. Listen to this challenge: "Always act as if the future depends on what you do now." You can move forward to overcome most obstacles when God is the source of insight and wisdom for your decisions, even when being successful appears problematic.

With God, all things are possible. God gave Joshua what seemed to be an impossible task of conquering the Promised Land for the Israelites. However, God promised, “I will be with you and you will prosper and be successful, so make sure you do not neglect to obey the commandments I gave to Moses.” Included here are God’s promise and your commitment.  

______________________

But I’ll take the hand of those who don’t know the way, who can’t see where they’re going.

I’ll be a personal guide to them, directing them through unknown country.

I’ll be right there to show them what roads to take, make sure they don’t fall into the ditch.

These are the things I’ll be doing for them – sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute!

~Isaiah 42:16 The Message

If you do what the Lord wants, he will make certain each step you take is sure. 

The Lord will hold your hand, and if you stumble, you still won’t fall.

~Psalm 37:23-24 Contemporary English Version