Recently I have been letting negative thoughts attack my everyday attitude. Sometimes something very small will happen during the day that will consume my mind and seem to take over anything great that happens. It really feels like a miniature spiritual battle that I have internally. One of my favorite verses is: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. It's really a great sounding verse, but a lot tougher than it seems. Take the first part, rejoice always. How often can you say that you are constantly rejoicing, all the time? Yes we may rejoice when something great happens, but are we really rejoicing all the time? Can you imagine if we were actually following this, how many people would be able to see a difference in us, that we are always joyful? Take the next part, pray continually. Yes, I pray multiple times a day about many things, but am I constantly praying? Definitely not. The power of prayer is immense and if we really were the praying community that we could be, the light that we have would be so much greater. The last part, give thanks in all circumstances, seems easy as well. Of course we thank God when we get the job or we get the grade but are we thanking Him all the time? For every little and even challenging thing that is happening in our lives? I doubt it.
On the other hand I think if we weaved these three simple things into our lives it would drastically change the way people see us and the light that we could shine around us. The last part of the verse that I love is this: "for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus". I can't tell you how many times I have asked, WHAT IS GOD'S WILL FOR ME? Well here it is laid out in three simple things. If I just did these things and turned my focus towards God instead of letting negative thoughts impact my mind, I'm sure there would be drastic changes in my spiritual life.
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