Out of the Pits and Back on Track

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 27. Here is what I learned.

That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world, The perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic. Psalm 27:3 (MSG)

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. Psalm 27:3 (NIV)

There’s a old commercial.. “Calgon. Take me away!” The concept was a Mom who is overwhelmed by caring for her family, escapes all the chaos, by taking a bath with calgon soap. 

There are times when I’m overwhelmed, by what’s happening in our Nation, my pain, or just life in general—paying bills, taking care of the home, car, etc. I feel that chaos has taken control and I just want to escape. 

The best place to not just escape, but get a new perspective and be refreshed, is in the house, or presence of God. God first provides peace and calmness. Then once my spirit is calm and at peace, I can then make sense out of the chaos that had so overwhelmed me. 

I think of my 2 different experiences at Chicagoland Speedway, 2012 and 2013. My perspective in 2012 was from the pits. I saw only a small portion of the track, and my main focus was on just one team. Where as in 2013, I perspective was from a higher view point, and I was able to see the entire track and know what was happening, as a whole. Both perspectives offered a good time, and both were exciting. 

In life, so often I get focused on just one problem or one difficulty, I don’t see the bigger picture. I lose sight of what God is doing. I get so focused on the problem, that literally become “stuck in the pits” unable to get moving again. But, if I take the time to enter God presence and spend time with Him, He reminds me that there is still a long race ahead, and that if I just trust Him, He’ll make sense out of the chaos. He will get me out of the “pits and back racing again”. 

To create a positive day, I need to change my perspective and allow God to get me out of the pits and back on track.... moving forward to finish the race! 

Rob Me of Joy

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 43. Here is what I learned.

For You are the God of my strength [my Stronghold—in Whom I take refuge]; why have You cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Psalm 43:2 (AMP)

God, you are my ·strength [refuge]. Why have you rejected me? Why am I ·sad [going around in mourning] and ·troubled [oppressed] by my enemies? Psalm 43:2 (EXB)

Why do I allow others to rob me of my joy? Why do I allow those who don’t love God to discourage me? Why do I allow the words of others to have such an impact on my life? 

The truth is that too often, I allow what others say to interfere with my goal to create a positive day. When I allow others to dictate where I’m joyful or discouraged, I put those people above God. And that is the wrong place to put any person! 

When someone says something to me that jobs me of joy, I need to first I need to consider who they are. If the person is a dear friend, then I need to evaluate what they said by comparing it to God’s Word. If the person is correcting me, then I need to take heed and get right with God. 

If the person is someone I don’t know, I still need to evaluate what they said. If what they said is not truth, then I need to ignore it and not allow their words to rob me of my joy or hinder me from reaching my goal. 

To create a positive day, I need to make sure that I’m not allowing the words of others to rob me of the joy that God provides in abundance!