Hey everybody! I’m back with another blog post. I want to share something that God has helped me to realize just in the past week. Hopefully, it can impact your life and/or you can share it with someone and it can impact their life. I won’t waste time getting into it, so here we go!
This past week, I was down for a little while. As is usually the case, I was focused too much on myself. My perspective was off. I was blessed to be able to go off alone for a little while and just spend some time with God in nature to reorient my perspective. I took my Bible with me. God showed me a couple of things from His Word that He impressed upon my heart. I would like to take you through two Bible passages which God used to change my thinking.
Philippians 4:11-13
11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to [a]be abased, and I know how to [b]abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through [c]Christ who strengthens me. – NKJV
The first thing God showed me is that I can be content no matter the circumstances in my life. Whether I am on a mountaintop or in a valley, it makes no difference. Whether I am abounding or in need, it doesn’t matter. Whether people love, respect, and are kind to me, or they demean, hurt, and reject me, I can be content. All that truly matters is that Christ is in my life. I can’t control all of the circumstances of my life, but that doesn’t matter if I don’t let my life be dictated by them! Instead, my joy and satisfaction are found in Christ. The Apostle Paul spoke of being content in every situation of his life and he suffered a great deal more than I probably ever will! How could he go through such difficult trials and still be content? Verse thirteen shares the answer. It is only through Christ’s strength. Through depending, trusting, and relying on God and His will for your life, you can be content in any circumstance and find your joy completely in Christ.
Psalm 115
The second thing God showed me is found in Psalm 115. God clearly directed me to this passage. I would like to share a couple of verses and how God used them to impact me.
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth. – Psalm 115:1 – NKJV
God gave me a huge realization and one that I will be challenged to live out the rest of my life. LIFE IS NOT ABOUT ME. It sounds simple, but so many times I have focused completely on myself. My perspective and view of life has revolved around myself instead of God. I am so thankful that God hit me with this truth. Why? It removes all the pressure! Who cares what people think about me? Who cares how I am treated? Who cares if I go through difficult times in my life? Life is not about me. In a sense, I want to shout that out to myself because I have been so prideful and caught up in myself. In reality, life is not about me at all. It is all about God and His glory as Psalm 115:1 clearly shows. It should completely change the way I live my life and my whole perspective on life. If all that matters is that God is glorified, then I can have complete joy and contentment in life no matter the trials and hardships that may surround my life as long as I am giving God the glory through them. It also removes all the pressure in life because I am just a nobody rather than needing to be the center of attention. I can love others and point them to Christ with no need of anything in return. This mindset shouts the realization that it doesn’t matter what happens in my life. All that matters is that God gets the glory!
I would like to share more, but I see that I have already gone on for a while. I encourage you to carefully read Psalm 115 for yourself. It contains some amazing truths. I would like to leave you with a couple questions to ask yourself.
- Are you content in your life? Do you believe that in Christ’s strength, you can be content no matter your circumstances?
- Have you come to the humbling realization that life is not about you at all? Do you live life focused on yourself or on God and His glory? Which mindset do you believe contains more freedom?
Have a great weekend everyone!