When should you be a Christian?
I must confess that I have been a grump lately. Not for a few days, but for a few months. Sure, I can compartmentalize and do what I need to, but poor Chris has had to deal with much more moodiness than he is accustomed to in our marriage. There are a dozen reasons why. The primary reasons have even fluctuated during this season. Some of the grumpiness is understandable. If I gathered my closest friends and shared all of my woes, I'm sure that they would even support me and validate that I have the right to be grumpy. But for crying out loud… when am I going to get over it? When am I going to move on and get back to my steady self?Then it occurred to me. Seriously, do I only find my joy in the Lord when all is smooth sailing? Do I only have faith when God is giving green lights? Of course not, but isn’t that the trap we can fall into if we are not careful? How many days per year are just exceptionally good? Maybe 10 or 20? If I live to 85, that means I will live out my faith a maximum of 880 days. I’ll do the math for you. This means that I will spend 2.4 years acting as God desires and 41.6 years acting like every other person who has not experienced the grace, mercy, and goodness of God.I don’t want to be that person. If you’ve struggled to get over your grumpies, I bet this is not who you want to be, either. The reality is that we are each given a choice. Our circumstances may or may not change. Sometimes they are beyond our ability to control… which is part of God’s intentional design anyway. What I can control is how I respond to disappointments and setbacks. I have a choice: wallow in my self-pity or look up and ask God how I can glorify Him through this adversity.If you’re walking through a valley, rolling down a hill, or dreading something that’s ahead of you, I want to encourage you as I encourage myself to choose to live out the faith that we talk about, pray about, and sing about so often. Some of the most ridiculous stuff can get us so off base in a matter of moments or hours. Likewise, even with the tough stuff, we have a choice to put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6:10 urges us, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”As Taylor Swift seems to always be singing on the radio these days, maybe we, too, need to “Shake it Off.” Ha! She’s right. Haters will hate and players will play, but what about you and me? Will believers believe? Will the faithful exercise faith? Or will we just crumble when adversity interrupts our plans?We can do this thing! Are you with me? I’d love to hear how you choose to keep focused on what is from the Lord. twitter | facebook