Rejoice In All Circumstances...
I realised that I’ve been so caught up in trying to live life to the fullest this holiday that I’ve missed the purpose of life and forgotten the important message to have joy in all circumstances which has always been my main theme for the blog. I think somehow I’ve drifted abit in my Christian life, as with all my knowledge of the fact that I can have the joy that comes from the Lord despite circumstances, I somehow was so unhappy this holiday because of the mistakes and being unable to live the holiday the way I wanted to, and I failed to realise that these things are also part of the circumstances that were talked about in the Bible in which we were to still be joyful in the face of. I should be happy with the situation that God put me in be it in this holiday or in life. And, I forgot the truth that life is not about our dreams and desires, but living for God’s glory and that God knows what is best for us. And, the other thing is that, when we delight ourselves in the Lord, the Lord gives us the desires of our hearts. All this was mainly due to the fact that to prepare for my A Levels and through the A Levels, I had stopped blogging. Well, blogging is actually my way of a spiritual journal, to keep track of my progress in my Christian life and the lessons I learn, so that I can constantly be reminded of the lesson that God has taught me through life’s experiences. And, in a certain sense, it was something that kept me spiritually active, kept me closer to God and made me strong and able to face the challenges I face in life. It allowed me to show God’s work in my life and perhaps I hope bring glory to God. But, yesterday, as I sang worship songs I began to feel that passion that I had initially for God’s glory. And, last nite, as I prayed earnestly for God to give me the understanding that I once had of the Christian life which I seemed to forget, I asked for wisdom and to truly be able to live life joyfully again. You know, I seem to have lost myself through the whole A Level period, coz I was too busy, so what I’ve learned and I hope whoever reads this could learn is that no matter the task at hand we should always remember God first and to spend time with God. The thing is that coupled with the events of yesterday and today as I read my blog about being joyful despite difficult circumstances, I was reminded of what I always knew and held on to and what defined who I am as a person in Christ, and that is that joy that comes from God regardless of circumstances. I think I’ve finally found myself again!!! And, as for living life, I realised that I had forgotten this and was so reminded that, living life fully is about living for God’s glory by living for the purposes He has for our lives and using whatever we have and are set in our hearts to do by God’s will. In this, I finally could break free of all that has been weighing me down for a long time and I can now go out and enjoy my holiday and knowing that I’m living life that way God intended for me and I can have the joy and fulfilment once again of living for God’s glory. So now I feel that I’m officially out of this phase of trials and I thank God that through this difficult time that He has been with me whether I felt it all the time or not and that I have emerged victorious over adversity, and I can truly now say again as I’ve always been able to say that I’m JOYFUL IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES and that I CAN CONSIDER IT PURE JOY WHENEVER YOU (I) FACE TRIALS OF MANY KINDS. And, truly everything that has happened to me in the past few weeks, has put me in a situation where I can only turn to God that has made me become closer to God and I realise much more that truly God is all I need for His GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR ME. Truly now, I REJOICE IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES for God has a great plan for me as He has for everyone and He loves us and is always there for us and God is in control and wants the best for us and will see us through and make us a better person in the end.
And, most importantly since we live for God’s glory, troubles in life provide the perfect opportunity for us to glorify God just as it says below, in an excerpt from an article I found on the net about glorifying God:
We glorify God when we say, by our words and actions, that He is more important than we are, and that what He wants is more important than what we want.
This principle should affect every area of our lives.
In the arena of moral choices, it means choosing God's way rather than our way, obeying Him rather than sinning.
I never have enough time. Almost nobody has enough time - not even my father, who is retired. There is always more that we want to do than there is time in which to do it. Glorifying God means laying aside what we want to do - or feel that we need to do - in order to do what He wants us to do. This means more than just giving up control of our "to do" list. It also at times may mean stopping "doing" entirely, stepping away from all the hustle and busyness and time pressure to just spend some time with God, worshipping and praising Him and walking with Him. (God Himself is more important than anything we could do for Him. Sometimes we show His importance by what we do for Him, but always we should show it by choosing to walk in fellowship with Him.)
I also never seem to have enough money. Most other people don't, either, including many millionaires. Glorifying God also means laying aside what we want (or feel we need) to do with our money, in order to do what He wants with His money. That may mean not buying something on which we have really set our heart, demonstrating that He is more important than our desires and cravings.
Glorifying God means having faith in Him - not just believing that He will save and forgive us (Acts 16:31, I John 1:9), but also believing that He can satisfy our needs and desires better than we can (and, in fact, that He Himself is ultimately the satisfaction of our needs and desires).
Viewed in this light, adversity, problems, difficulties, and troublesome situations are not particularly alarming. Rather, they are opportunities to glorify God in a way that we couldn't before. It's easy to trust God - or say you do - when you have money in the bank, but you far more clearly show how much God is worth to you when you obey Him by giving five dollars at His direction - and you only have six. It's easy to praise God when everything is going well, but you place Him in a much higher position when you praise and worship Him while you are in difficulty and pain. It's easy to give God your time when you have so much of it that you are bored, but you give Him much higher standing in your life when you give Him time while you feel absolutely buried by the urgent demands pulling at you. (I still have a long way to go in terms of choosing to use adversity to glorify God.)
But, glorifying God does not mean that we spend every moment saying, "Glory to God!", though verbal praise should characterize our lives. It means that we should spend every moment with our lives saying, "Glory to God!" to those who can hear. And you can be sure that God can hear. (Others may well misunderstand, but God sees and appreciates the motives of the heart. For an example, see Matthew 26:6-13.)
Therefore, I’m finally the person I know I am in Christ and truly I live for God’s glory and I joy in all circumstances and I am a transformed person in Christ and every bit of me just wants to worship and glorify God and I’m not the same and my desire is to truly live a life that is pleasing to God and brings glory to God.
And, today as I sing praises to God about His everlasting love and mercy that never ends, and as I finally feel better now over time, just as the song by Leona Lewis better in time, and I just really feel God’s presence with me and just feel so happy, joyful, loved and just so inspired and passionate about living for God’s glory. I’m really FINE AGAIN NOW and I’m finally back to the higher points in my life again as I let God bear the weight of everything. And, I’ve just prayed to God thanking Him and praying that I will be transformed and that the fruits of the spirit manifest in my life and shine for God and bring glory to God and that I will live joyfully for God’s glory in all circumstances and live well and fully for His glory. I just feel now that I truly love God with all my heart and mind and soul and all I want is to worship God. God has truly lifted my spirits to a high now again…so…I’m just so happy again and I feel so thankful that I’m back to being joyful again, truly, now I’m having such a high and I’m so glad that I’m my usual self and I feel so good…
Lord, I just thank you and pray that I will rejoice in all circumstances and bring glory to your name with my life. Amen.
And, most importantly since we live for God’s glory, troubles in life provide the perfect opportunity for us to glorify God just as it says below, in an excerpt from an article I found on the net about glorifying God:
We glorify God when we say, by our words and actions, that He is more important than we are, and that what He wants is more important than what we want.
This principle should affect every area of our lives.
In the arena of moral choices, it means choosing God's way rather than our way, obeying Him rather than sinning.
I never have enough time. Almost nobody has enough time - not even my father, who is retired. There is always more that we want to do than there is time in which to do it. Glorifying God means laying aside what we want to do - or feel that we need to do - in order to do what He wants us to do. This means more than just giving up control of our "to do" list. It also at times may mean stopping "doing" entirely, stepping away from all the hustle and busyness and time pressure to just spend some time with God, worshipping and praising Him and walking with Him. (God Himself is more important than anything we could do for Him. Sometimes we show His importance by what we do for Him, but always we should show it by choosing to walk in fellowship with Him.)
I also never seem to have enough money. Most other people don't, either, including many millionaires. Glorifying God also means laying aside what we want (or feel we need) to do with our money, in order to do what He wants with His money. That may mean not buying something on which we have really set our heart, demonstrating that He is more important than our desires and cravings.
Glorifying God means having faith in Him - not just believing that He will save and forgive us (Acts 16:31, I John 1:9), but also believing that He can satisfy our needs and desires better than we can (and, in fact, that He Himself is ultimately the satisfaction of our needs and desires).
Viewed in this light, adversity, problems, difficulties, and troublesome situations are not particularly alarming. Rather, they are opportunities to glorify God in a way that we couldn't before. It's easy to trust God - or say you do - when you have money in the bank, but you far more clearly show how much God is worth to you when you obey Him by giving five dollars at His direction - and you only have six. It's easy to praise God when everything is going well, but you place Him in a much higher position when you praise and worship Him while you are in difficulty and pain. It's easy to give God your time when you have so much of it that you are bored, but you give Him much higher standing in your life when you give Him time while you feel absolutely buried by the urgent demands pulling at you. (I still have a long way to go in terms of choosing to use adversity to glorify God.)
But, glorifying God does not mean that we spend every moment saying, "Glory to God!", though verbal praise should characterize our lives. It means that we should spend every moment with our lives saying, "Glory to God!" to those who can hear. And you can be sure that God can hear. (Others may well misunderstand, but God sees and appreciates the motives of the heart. For an example, see Matthew 26:6-13.)
Therefore, I’m finally the person I know I am in Christ and truly I live for God’s glory and I joy in all circumstances and I am a transformed person in Christ and every bit of me just wants to worship and glorify God and I’m not the same and my desire is to truly live a life that is pleasing to God and brings glory to God.
And, today as I sing praises to God about His everlasting love and mercy that never ends, and as I finally feel better now over time, just as the song by Leona Lewis better in time, and I just really feel God’s presence with me and just feel so happy, joyful, loved and just so inspired and passionate about living for God’s glory. I’m really FINE AGAIN NOW and I’m finally back to the higher points in my life again as I let God bear the weight of everything. And, I’ve just prayed to God thanking Him and praying that I will be transformed and that the fruits of the spirit manifest in my life and shine for God and bring glory to God and that I will live joyfully for God’s glory in all circumstances and live well and fully for His glory. I just feel now that I truly love God with all my heart and mind and soul and all I want is to worship God. God has truly lifted my spirits to a high now again…so…I’m just so happy again and I feel so thankful that I’m back to being joyful again, truly, now I’m having such a high and I’m so glad that I’m my usual self and I feel so good…
Lord, I just thank you and pray that I will rejoice in all circumstances and bring glory to your name with my life. Amen.
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