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The Good of Every Day

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Lately, I have been feeling weighed down by the circumstance of the current season. The struggle to see past these circumstances dampened my spirit. It was time to refer to Philippians 4:8. Not only am I thinking about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy, I am looking for those things in everything.

In this season, I had to find the good of every day. It took effort, but I pushed myself to find it. Anything from a beautiful flower, hearing the voice of a good friend or simply feeling blessed to get out of bed in the morning qualifies. My mission reduced the weighed down feeling. I then began to share my good of every day also asking friends and family about their good. My hope was to share the good and perhaps help someone else find the good of every day.

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Consider it Pure Joy

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:2-6

The uncertainties surrounding the current Coronavirus event have produced a variety of trials. Normally, we all have experienced trials in our lives at one time or another. The uncertainty of this particular trial has led to feelings of being ill at ease and unsure of what the future will look like. The uncertainty is truly testing my faith in God. I believe my trials are a training ground for what God has next for me. The big question is: ‘God, what are you trying to teach me in this?’

My regular prayer along with standing strong on God’s wisdom and word gives me peace. I choose to have a relationship with God because the alternative proved to be adverse to my best interest. I have at times put God in the backseat regarding decisions I have made. Those decisions have resulted in being blown and tossed by the wind as the scripture says. With those decisions, came another lesson learned and more wisdom acquired. My relationship with God is not perfect. It is a work in progress as I am a work in progress. I just know I am better with God than without.

Whatever the trial happening at the time, there will be a lesson and wisdom that comes out of it for myself and the situation at hand. I will continue to ask God for wisdom. Having God with me every step of the way is what I consider pure joy. The Lesson and the wisdom will move me forward into what God has for me. For that, I am grateful.