Usually, it isn’t what you have, where you are, or what you have been through that makes you happy or unhappy, it is how you think about it all. It starts on the inside; you control your thoughts, your feelings, and how you perceive the world. In the long run, the only person who can prevent you from being happy is you.
Life is full of changes. Every day, we have added stress, added problems and added concerns, but being engaged in the world as Disciples of Christ, God asks us to endure and not to focus on what happens to us but how we respond, how we react when something does not go exactly the way we expect or would like it to go.
God calls for us to hold on to the hope we say we have and not to be changed by the troubles of the world, for we can trust that God will do what He promised. (Hebrews 10:23)
Over the years, we age, we lose our physical strength, and we cannot do the things we once were able to do. Just because we go through those physical changes, that still does not mean God cannot use us. Despite our frailties, we are still important to God. We still have purpose, we still have meaning, and we still have the hope that is within us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We cannot go back to yesterday. We can only move forward and make the most of our tomorrows. Despite our limitations and our pre-existing conditions, we can start today to do something good for God’s glory and make tomorrow even better. Ask yourself, “What can I do for God today? Where can I be a blessing to others? How can I be a positive message of hope to others?”
The question is, are you going to be the positive change this church and God need from you? We cannot change the cards we are dealt. We can only change how we play the hand we are dealt. If you don’t like something, change it. If you cannot change it, change your attitude about how you see things so you can be more accepting of the changes that do occur.
The great author Bernard Shaw once said, “If you cannot change one’s mind (heart), then you cannot change anything.” Be the change God calls you to be.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
~ Reinhold Niebuhr (The Serenity Prayer)
Pastor Mark