Roller-Coaster Christianity

 

By Andrea Merrell

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

Galatians 5:22 NLT

 

Those who live in the South understand dealing with roller-coaster weather. It might be 85 degrees one day and 35 degrees the next. One day you’re in shorts and sandals and the next in jackets and snow boots. Southerners learn to layer because we never know what to expect from one day to the next—regardless of weather reports.

Funny how some people are the same. One day they’re sporting a bright, sunny disposition and the next they’re coming at you with hurricane-force words and attitudes. When we’re around them, we never know what to expect from one minute to the next. And layers don’t help. Maybe they should have someone issuing weather reports on their frame of mind.

As believers, we need to learn to layer—our thoughts, words, and actions with God’s Word. A good place to start is with the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22. It all begins with love. According to the Open Bible:

The Fruit of the Spirit is love, and it is manifested in joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

·       Joy is love’s strength.

·       Peace is love’s security.

·       Long-suffering is love’s patience.

·       Gentleness is love’s conduct.

·       Goodness is love’s character.

·       Faith is love’s confidence.

·       Meekness is love’s humility.

·       Temperance is love’s victory.

Instead of riding the emotional roller coaster, let’s plant ourselves deep in the soil of God’s Word so we can produce love—God’s love—and all of its wonderful characteristics.

Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash

 

Is Your Joy Tied to Your Circumstances?

 

By Andrea Merrell

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy 

may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:11 NKJV

 

“I can’t ever do anything to please you!” the man shouted at his wife. “What will it take to make you happy?”

The woman remained silent, but thoughts shot through her mind like bottle rockets on the Fourth of July. Finally, she said, “When you’re nicer to me. When you make more money and get us out of debt. When you fix all the broken things on my list. When you let me get a better car. When …”

This woman’s happiness and sense of well-being was clearly tied to her circumstances and what her husband could do for her. She felt that she could never be happy until things changed. What she needed was joy.

Happiness depends on what goes on around us. It’s both fickle and fleeting. But joy—true, never-ending joy—only comes from the Lord. It’s a gift that helps us smile and keeps us standing strong in the face of adversity.

Sarah Young writes that when we “continually daydream about the day things get better, our moments are trickling into the ground like precious balm spilling wastefully from overturned bottles.”

Don’t dream of better days, waiting to find your happiness. Even when those better days come, the happiness won’t last when circumstances change.

 Joy is a gift. Keep yours full and overflowing.

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.

 

Keep Your Eyes Straight Ahead

 

By Andrea Merrell

So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote

in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it,

turning either to the right or to the left.

Joshua 23:6 NLT

 

As far as cars go, I’m a pretty good driver. I obey the laws, pay attention, and watch my speed—well, except for the two warnings I’ve received lately for going over the 45 MPH limit on our main road that has been 55 MPH for over fifty years.

The problem I have is not being able to look around and enjoy the scenery while I’m driving. When my eyes veer to the left or right, so does my car. I have to keep my eyes straight ahead and focus my attention on where I’m headed.

It’s the same in our walk with the Lord. In fact, God told Joshua not to deviate from His instructions and not to turn to the left or right. That’s how we keep from getting distracted and led in the wrong direction.

When we keep our eyes on the One who lights our path and guides our steps, we’ll never fall into a ditch or off a cliff—or end up in the wrong place.

Where's your focus?

 

 Photo by Andraz Lazic on Unsplash

The Importance of a Good Self-Image

 

By Andrea Merrell

You are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.

Isaiah 43:4b NLT

As someone who struggled for years with a poor self-image and low self-esteem, I learned how it can not only rob us of God’s blessings in our life but also His ability to bless others through us.

How we see ourselves—our opinion, beliefs, and attitude—is so important. But where does that opinion come from? How is it built within us?

The answer is primarily by other people. Especially those who are most important to us. When they continually speak negative words to us and about us, we start to believe them. That’s what happened to me beginning in my childhood. One writer says it’s like a virus downloaded into our computer, destroying everything in its path.

The key is in finding out what God thinks about us. What He says. And knowing that His opinion is the only one that really counts.

We can never surpass or get beyond the image that is firmly ingrained in us until we learn to see ourselves as He sees us: Redeemed. Righteous. Of great worth. Loved. His friend. His child. That’s the way we discover our God-given potential and move toward our God-given destiny.

Want to change your self-image? Change your self-talk. Find out what the Word says about you, then shut out all the negative voices.

God says to each of us, “You are precious to me, and I love you with an unconditional love that will never end.”

What more could we possibly need?

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com and Taylor Smith.

 

Know When to Move On

 

By Andrea Merrell

I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking

 forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the

 race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, 

through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:13-14 NLT

 

“Things change,” my friend said. “It seems nothing ever stays the same. I guess it’s time for me to move on.”

Her words caused me to look back over the years at all the seasons of my life I thought would last forever. Jobs. Relationships. A home church. But as the old saying goes, “When one door closes, another one opens.”

What I learned through each scenario is that when we belong to the Lord, He has a plan and purpose for each of us. There are seasons of our life that may last a few days, a few months, or even a few years. The good news is He gives us grace for each season—and when it ends, so does the grace. That’s when we know it’s time to move on.

I’ve tried to hang on at times, even when I knew a certain season had come to an end. It’s easy to become a creature of habit and resist change. But change is never a bad thing when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide.

Paul said he had learned to be content in any given circumstance (Philippians 4:11). He made the best of it and did what he was called to do. But he also knew when it was time to move on to his next assignment. He changed his focus, forgot about the past, and looked forward to what lay ahead.

Don’t spend your time looking back, grieving over what was. Keep your eyes on the Lord, as Paul did, and let Him lead you into your next adventure.

Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash