LIVE LIFE GOD’S WAY
It can be tough, but not more than we can handle. Our Lord gives out only the portion that our physical, mental, and emotional beings can tolerate.
As we trust our physicians in their opinions as to the necessary medication to heal our bodies, we should trust Him to know what we require to build and nourish our souls to a healthy and worthwhile tool for him.
As an earthly physician must sometimes inflict pain upon us to restore us to physical health, so must the Great Physician bring upon us mental and emotional agony to bring about that which is necessary to cleanse our souls and spiritual lives.
Trust in His power and love to see you through each test and thank Him for His strength, wisdom and concern for you. Perhaps you don’t understand, but He does. For He is God. You are His creation. He knows what makes you tick. He knows each little nerve, the length and depth of every vessel, even the number of hairs on your head. Be at peace as He reviews and handles your life each day. He will never be mistaken. Only your lack of faith and your rebellion can interfere with the perfection and accomplishment in the end.
Life can be a challenge, if you let it be. There are so many avenues for you to explore, so many improbable tasks to tease an inquisitive and curious mind, many that have never been tried.
We have been given minds of our own to study and delve into the challenging feats of life.
To accomplish sixty seconds worth of value in every hour is in itself a challenge. To find the very best of oneself is a challenge. And to learn to appreciate life in all its facets is the greatest challenge of all, and an interesting challenge, at that.
Life is a mystery. How we were created; how we move about and function, how we touch and feel. How mysterious and wonderful it is to look back at what God has done and to look ahead with the excitement of what might be. How deeply sensitive is the thought of how God can bring about miracles to change and mold us and our lives into patterns we could never comprehend even to the point of imagination. Be aware of the mystery of life and the wonders, wisdom, and art in your make-up.
You are being built upon, constantly, if your spirit is receptive to His hands. Give Him full control, and watch as He builds you into a great and magnificent temple that you never dreamed possible, even in the hands of the Master.
But don’t leave it all to Him. Your future will be a lot what you make it. He doesn’t try to do it all alone. He leaves some of the labor to you. He is the Master, you are the apprentice. How much you are given will depend on how much you can be trusted with. Reach out for it. Look forward to its conquests. Make of it a bright and lovely day. Let the sun shine brightly upon your life and although you may cringe with the dread of your suffering, stand firm in your faith as the storms batter your shores, as the rain falls upon your soul; rest securely in the strength of God’s judgment and power. Only through hardship and suffering can we realize the greatest treasure of life – peace of heart, soul, and mind. How sweet it is to close our eyes to rest without turmoil in our souls; with no heavy burden to weigh us down, with no demons to twist our minds.
Live your life, fully and completely without regret or dread. Be happy for life and look forward to each new tomorrow and its new beauty in dawning. There is loveliness in all God’s creation, if only we can search for it and recognize its presence.
Always remember that ugliness within the mind is bred there. Don’t allow it to touch your spirit, but root it out with the beauty you know. Because of its glory your inner warmth and sunshine will touch all those lives your life might cross. Look for goodness in all you see, and when you find it, take of it, all that your packets can hold and divide it in even portions among all those you find in need of its mercy.
Look for love among all the mass of hatred in the world today. Seek it from its hiding places and give it to each hungry soul, freely and unashamed.
Give value to that which is good and wholesome and constantly endeavor to weed out of your garden of life that which shades, smothers or chokes the fruit of all God’s goodness.
Discover virtue in the hearts of your fellow man, and turn away from their faults and misgivings unless to add strength and love in correction.
Find within each heart that love and tenderness which has been driven into secrecy by the hurt and corruption of the world and nourish it through the knowledge and love you, yourself have received at the hand of God
With gentle feeling, smother out the shame and terror of those you meet, and help them to replace it with confidence, security, honor, and love. By doing so, the same information will take place in the inner depth of your own life.
Never forget that all men are equal in God’s eyes, and should in all respects be so in yours. Be inferior to no man, for through that inferiority you “short-change” yourself and limit your service to the Lord’s people. But just as important, never fool yourself into thinking that you are any man’s superior, for not only will it sever your companionship with others, but bring out the heights of human foolishness in your character.
Be yourself. Permit and nourish honest and genuine emotion and eliminate all that is false motivation.
When soul piercing pain comes, never be ashamed to weep, yet never give way to self pity. Never despise yourself when provoked to anger, but try to reach an understanding with yourself through discipline and self-control. Keep your life alive and moving. To be physically or mentally idle is to leave your house unattended and open to corruption and unworthy contemplation.
Be true to yourself and all you believe to be honest and right. Never conform to confused option and deceitful vanities, adding to the turmoil of today’s society.
In the time God has given, Live! Live a life that is free. Free of doubt, fear, self-made agonies and depressions.
Bring light to the lives of others. Never hate, but love, and have no shame in being kind and gentle, for this itself is strength of life. But in your gentility, do not turn from the need to stand firm and to fight for justice and peace. Never be a quitter. All that must be done in your life will be your responsibility, however great the task. Accomplish your purpose however tight the odds against you, if the cause is worthy of your effort.
Live life with a smile, a willing spirit, and faith that the pattern you set will not add to the sorrow and pain of the world, but to the mystery and joy of it all.