God Has a New Attitude Waiting for You

We have a play room in our house for grandkids. To tell you the truth they rarely play in there, but they do go upstairs to get toys out of the playroom to bring down to the living room! Often great fights start because inevitably two children want the same toy. One day Stella was upstairs playing by herself when we heard her begin wailing. I thought for sure she’d dropped the toy box lid on herself or some other catastrophe. We ran upstairs to find her crying inconsolably in the middle of the floor. A toy was there beside her. There was no sign of physical distress so we asked her what the problem was. It was simple. The toy would not do what she wanted it to do! She was actually furious not hurt. We got her mind off the situation she was in and on something else and everything was fine. A change of attitude came when her heart changed as her focus changed.

It’s hard to admit but there are times when we are the same as Stella. We’re having a good time, things are going great and our life is all planned out. We’re paying our bills, loving our family, enjoying our jobs, and may even be ministering for the Lord. A nice neat tidy play area we’ve created. It’s all good. But then something changes. There’s a blip in the system and we find ourselves in a bit of a situation. Something has gone wrong and we’re furious. We become frustrated, anxious and demanding. We want it all to work our way. We want life to “do what we want it to do”. What we’re really saying is where is God? How did He let this happen? We become angry and cry and throw a spiritual tantrum because God isn’t doing what we want Him to do. We lay in the floor and we wail and gnash our teeth at our entire situation. We may even say, “Oh God!” But we’re not really praying we’re just mad. Mad at the situation, made that our life is upset and maybe even made that God would do this to us. Life quits working and if we don’t get a handle on our emotions we’ll eventually blame God for the mess.

But God steps onto the scene of our ruined lives and scoops us up. Suddenly our perspective changes. We’re no longer in the floor having our pity party. We’re in the Father’s arms. We begin to fellowship with Him just as the Psalmist did: by sharing our hurts, our pain, our problem , our anguish. He listens and lets us spill it all out before Him. Then He speaks to our hearts and our attitude softens. We forget the brokenness of our life as we rehearse the Truth that our Father speaks into our life. “In this world you will have tribulation, but rejoice I have overcome the world”. “All things work together for your good”. “Peace I give you…” “Surely goodness and mercy will follow you…” On and on God speaks. On and on Jesus provides. On and on the Holy Spirit woos. Finally we relax in the midst of the situation and our heart is softened and our focus is no longer on our problem, but on our Savior.

Oh beloved, are things not going how you wanted them to go? Was it all just right and yet now it’s not working? Have you found yourself in the middle of the floor having a pity party and wanting to blame God for all the mess you are surrounded by? It’s time to crawl up in your Abba Father’s lap and let Him speak His truth over your life. Look full in His wonderful face as the hymnist wrote, and the things of earth will go strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. God loves you and yet things will go wrong. Your only recourse is to seek the Father’s face and let Him change your attitude. Instead of berating the situation God will begin to teach you the eternal perspective of what you are going through. His promises remain and His purpose for you is steady.

Ultimately, even if something is permanently broken, you can be assured that your life doesn’t have to be thrown out. Your plans don’t have to be discarded. Rather God wants to change you. His ultimate goal is to make you like Him and give you a stronger heart for the days ahead. Jesus is your example and faith is your window of opportunity to let God pick you up and change your heart.

Stella’s toy was left in the floor not to be picked up and get frustrated over again. God says give me the thing that you can’t get to do what you want anymore and I will turn it into an opportunity for your good and My glory. I love you and I am for you and that’s all that matters as you grow in grace and the knowledge of My Son, your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:28 We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. Amplified

Psalm 73:21-24 When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory.

2 Corinthians 3:18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.

Psalm 27:8 When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! NLT

Psalm 34:5 Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. NLT

God Will Keep You Always

We love all the Toy Story movies. We see that Woody goes through a lot in each of the movies. Each movie showcases troubles that the toy Woody gets into. His owner Andy went away to college and he was boxed up and accidentally given away. Woody feels pretty bad about it all and is convinced that he meant much more to Andy than how it appears to be. Still Andy is gone and Woody is given away. Woody feels rejected and even though he wanted to stand with Andy forever, it’s over. Or so it seems. Watching to the end of the movies, each and every time we see how things turn out right for Woody, even when he’s in the hands of treachery and thievery. We applaud the good ending and rejoice with the toys.

I know there are times when we all feel like castaways. We may know that we were right where we belonged. We were doing a good job, just like Woody did a good job of being a toy for Andy. Yet things happen. While we are willing to go for the long haul, there are times when the worst happens. We get boxed up and sat to the curb. It’s then that we wonder what we are going to do. We feel alone, left out, and useless. We didn’t want it to happen but it did just the same.

Toy Story is just a movie, but the fact is we belong to Someone. We have given our heart and soul to the Lord and we pour our lives into where God has put us. Wherever we are, we are meant to sow as unto the Lord and we know that it’s from God we receive that reward. We can trust that the One who wrote our life story has not written finished, done or “the end”, for we are alive and looking for God to call us on to higher things. We can rejoice that whenever one door is closed, God most certainly has better plans for you. No one who is alive and breathing and belongs to God is useless. There may be a time of waiting for God to open that next door, but we must never give in to dismay or discouragement. This is the time to spruce ourselves up in Christ for the next big event.

Oh beloved, God knows your heart. He hears your cries of pain as someone invariably has put you out on the curb. They do not know God’s heart for you. All they can know is their perspective. But you can trust God, no matter what. You will never be called a castaway by God. And just like the ending to the children’s movie, the ending to God’s story of you is good. God promises to promote you beyond your own present situation, when you stay close to Him and rejoice in His truths. Don’t let yourself be sold out because of the current circumstances you may be in. You are priceless to God, and He will keep you safe all the way to heaven. Now is the time to get into the Word, get on your knees and get even closer to God. Your faith is your greatest ally and the Lord is your comforter. Keep watching, keep praying, keep forgiving and keep looking to the Lord for His response.

You’ll never lose out as long as you walk with Him. God is writing your story and you are In Christ. So the story of your walk with Him is written with great purpose and continuing plans of good and not evil. Nothing else matters as long as you realize that God loves you and He’s for you and His plan for you will be fulfilled.

Psalm 27:10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up.

Isaiah 54:6 “For the Lord has called you, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,” Says your God.

Philippians 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Psalm 57:2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill His purpose for me.

Psalm 40:5 O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all Your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

You Are God's Beautiful Treasure!

When we were young, it was fun to pick up coke bottles along the road for extra money.  They were all glass back then and you could redeem them for cash. It didn’t take long to have enough change to buy candy or some treasure at the store. Someone else’s throw away was worth something if you took the time to find it and take it home. Years later we find people collecting the old bottles that others had thrown away. The bottles themselves are now the treasures that people display on shelves in their homes.

The Lord says to you this morning, I know you have been discarded. You feel as empty as an old bottle lying in the ditch. But you are a treasure! And I have come to redeem you! I will not trade you in for gold or silver, for you are worth far more than anything man values. But I will take you and display you as a beautiful treasure for all to see in my Kingdom.  Who is the one who has pronounced you worthless? They do not know My Word. Who is the one who left you chipped and useless on the road of life? They do not count your worth as I do!

Oh beloved, you are a treasure, you are a beautiful picture of God’s redeeming love! Run to the One Who has bought you with a price and let Him bandage your wounds and set you on the mountain top. He loves you, He’s for you and His future for you is full of wonder as you live for Him. Lay aside the hurts and the disappointments and worship the One Who is worthy of all your praise!

 Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

I Corinthians 7:23a  You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for by Christ];

Isaiah 63:9  In all their suffering He also suffered, and He personally rescued them. In His love and mercy He redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.

I Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.