Things are happening..some great things, but yet again, not so great things. I have had talks with God...I keep hearing back, keep your mind stayed on me..then this morning my husband comes into my office and shares from his time with God. He shared the story of Stephen, the disciple that was stoned to death, the first martyr of the early christian church. Stephen was being stoned and he looked up and saw Jesus, literally. He kept his eyes on Jesus and died with great joy! Some say Saul (soon to be Paul) was watching, possibly even holding the executioners cloak. Obviously, Saul was affected deeply to watch a man die with such peace-what did he have that Saul did not?
That is exactly what God is saying to me this morning, it is not what happens to you, or how great you suffer, but what your view is when it happens. Who, or what, am I focused on? Do I keep my eyes on the circumstance, or do I keep my eyes on Jesus? Do I think positively about my future, or do I grumble and complain, expecting disaster? I took this quote from someone on Facebook yesterday:
"I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom." General George Patton
I do not suggest we deny the pain of our circumstance, certainly Stephen cried out in anguish, but he also cried out in hope, knowing that with Christ there is ALWAYS a bend in the road, that even death is not final.
1 comment:
Thanks Terri, I needed that today.
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